Phoenix Labs, responsible for various titles such as Fae Farm and Dauntless, is conducting a round of layoffs and is canceling several in-development games amid major restructuring efforts.
The latest news revealed that the developer laid off more than 100 people and released a statement following the efforts. The company said that it took a long time to evaluate how to navigate its economic structure.
Phoenix Labs Lays Off Employees
(Photo : Phoenix Labs / Screenshot taken from official website)
It noted that they were forced to significantly restructure in order for them to pave a path for a strong future.
The statement also said that the restructuring efforts were made in order for the company to focus on its best-in-class live service titles, Dauntless and Fae Farm, while also serving the games' communities.
The company said that the decision unfortunately meant that they would have to cancel work on all other projects at the studio, adding that it would impact many of their workers. They added that they were giving notices to everyone whose roles were affected by the round of layoffs, according to GameInformer.
The statement said that the decision was not easy to make and that it was the last resort that was taken to ensure that Phoenix Labs survives as well as thrives in the long term. It added that the company was doing all it could to help the departing team members during the interim period.
The latest round of layoffs is just another in a series of other saddening 2024 developments, including studio closures. In just the first five months of the year, there are now more than 10,000 employees who have been laid off from the gaming industry.
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There are already former employees on LinkedIn who are reporting the loss of their jobs and said that all projects in development have been canceled. A former principal engineer, Kris Morness, said that the layoffs were ordered by Forte, Phoenix Labs' owner.
The blockchain platform had apparently acquired the video game studio "over a year ago" in a transaction that was never publicized. He also corroborated a post that was made by former UX lead Noah Watkins that said the studio's next game was only a few weeks away from being revealed, said GameDeveloper.
Major Restructuring Efforts
Phoenix Lab's layoffs come after it spent 2023 struggling with major organizational changes that culminated in a series of layoffs in May and December of that year. This followed the studio breaking away from parent company Garena, which is responsible for Garena Free Fire.
Taking into consideration the timeline with Morness' claim about Forte, it seems highly probable that the blockchain platform was a key part of the ownership shift. It is currently unknown why its involvement was not made public.
Phoenix Labs' layoffs come as its live-service game, Dauntless, made a good first impression when it was initially released in 2017. Many called the game the "PC Monster Hunter game we've all been waiting for."
However, the title ran into an issue shortly after when Monster Hunter: World was announced for PC. While Dauntless has a lot to offer, senior editor Wes Fenlon said in 2019 that the latter was simply the "deeper, bigger, richer game," according to PCGamer.
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