One week after delaying Homeworld 3 till Might, Blackbird Interactive has confirmed that an unspecified variety of staff have been laid off from the studio.
The layoffs had been initially reported by a number of former Blackbird Interactive staff on LinkedIn (through Sport Developer). Jacob Van Rooyen, who was working as lead producer on a brand new mission at Blackbird Interactive, mentioned that layoffs had been made “throughout the corporate, and, sadly, I used to be a kind of impacted.”
“Regardless of the scenario, I recognize all of the experiences and great folks I’ve met and recognized at BBI,” Van Rooyen wrote. “I have been amazed and humbled by everybody’s help at the moment, and I want everybody impacted the perfect in touchdown on their toes.”
Alexander Weatherton, who was simply promoted to the place of recreation director in November 2023 “to guide a brand new mission,” was additionally among the many staff let go. “After 4 incredible years at BBI I have been sadly affected by a brand new spherical of layoffs,” Weatherton wrote. “I’ve grown and learnt a lot these previous few years and am keen to use these learnings to my subsequent function.”
Blackbird Interactive confirmed the layoffs in an announcement offered to PC Gamer. “Resulting from financial pressures exterior of our management, we needed to take the unlucky step of separating from some pals,” the studio mentioned. “That is a part of a realignment plan that’s crucial due to new initiatives that had been shelved by a few of our companions. We checked out a number of methods of avoiding this and regretfully different choices weren’t viable.”
The studio mentioned it’s providing “prolonged advantages and severance” to laid-off staff, and that the cuts won’t have an effect on the event of Homeworld 3.
2023 was a brutal 12 months for layoffs within the videogame trade, and 2024 has to this point stored up the appalling tempo with deep cuts to indie studios and main gamers alike. It has been, fairly frankly, a 12 months of disaster, and it seems set to worsen: As we famous in our take a look at the affect of 16,000 layoffs since January 2023, the trade was midway to 2023’s whole layoff rely in January 2024 alone.