The developer behind Dead by Daylight, Behaviour Interactive, has laid off nearly 100 employees, the majority of whom are based in Montreal, just months after prior job cuts that affected dozens of workers.
The latest announcement confirmed that they will be letting go of 95 staff members which was apparently a decision made with "strategic changes for future growth" in mind. The studio also cited a "challenging period for the games industry" as well as "unprecedented competition."
Behaviour Interactive's Latest Layoffs
(Photo : Behaviour Interactive / Screenshot taken from Steam)
Behaviour Interactive also noted that its headcount has already more than doubled from nearly 600 workers to 1,300 staff members in the last five years. It seems to follow the trend of video game companies growing due to the at-home pandemic surge.
The company called it "remarkable growth" but has now been forced to cut off the excess number of workers that it hired.
Behaviour Interactive added that the "multiple strategic changes to its corporate structure," which is firing dozens of employees, will help improve the distinction between its various resources, according to Rock Paper Shotgun.
This comes as the studio is doubling down on its "historical strengths" of horror and development services. It also comes as Behaviour Interactive is gearing up for a potential expansion into whatever "location-based entertainment" entails.
With all of the affected workers' contributions in creating titles such as Dead by Daylight, Behaviour Interactive is waving off its laid-off employees with a caring and heartfelt acknowledgment. This is because each of these individuals was able to offer valuable contributions to the studio.
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The announcement of the layoffs also added that it would not affect the development of Dead by Daylight as well as work on the upcoming single-player spin-off The Casting of Frank Stone. The latter is a title that Behaviour Interactive is publishing and is being developed by Supermassive Games.
The latest development comes after the video game studio had also let go of 45 employees from its Montreal office in January earlier this year. At the time, Behaviour Interactive cited "changing market conditions" as the reason for the decision, said IGN.
The Situation in the Video Game Industry
But recently, the studio has also been known to be on a bit of a spending spree, and in March 2024, it acquired Fly Studio in Montreal. Last year, Behaviour Interactive acquired both SockMoney Studios and Codeglue while also setting up a new studio in Cornwall.
Two years ago, the video game studio acquired Midwinter Entertainment and also opened a new office in Toronto. The layoffs come after Dead by Daylight got its official Dungeons & Dragons chapter release.
The layoffs follow the recent trend in the gaming industry for nearly two years, and in 2023, more than 10,000 individuals have been let go while another 10,000 were laid off in just the first half of this year.
After the announcement of Behaviour Interactive's layoffs, studio co-founder and CEO Remi Racine expressed "deep personal appreciation for any employee" who was affected by the latest changes.
He also considered the incident as a victory, which is probably not how the affected workers see the situation, according to PCGamer.
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