Outriders developer People Can Fly has announced its second round of layoffs in less than a year, this time affecting “more than 120” people. The measure is accompanied by the cancellation or reduction of several projects, and the study blames “external market pressures.”
In a statement announcing their latest layoffs, People Can Fly CEO Sebastian Wojciechowski wrote: “Today we made a very difficult decision to scale back our self-publishing strategy by suspending Project Victoria, reducing our team at Project Bifrost, and restructuring some of our collaborators”. teams at People Can Fly.”
“We are deeply saddened by the fact that this situation means furloughing or separating more than 120 talented Airmen,” Wojciechowski continued, “colleagues we enjoy having as part of our team…This action became necessary as pressures persisted of the external market. Beyond our forecasts, the video game market continues to evolve and we have to adapt to the current situation. We are doubling our efforts with new contract work contracts and focusing on the development of a. unique independent game.
“We believe in our teams, games and their potential, and remain extremely committed to continuing that journey, but we need to adapt our plans to our financial capacity… We are deeply grateful for the contributions of every team member affected by this. The turnaround events; their talent and dedication have helped shape our company and our games. These changes are deeply felt by all. Wojciechowski added that the studio is providing “resources and assistance” to those affected by the job cuts, and remains “equally committed to caring for those who remain, who are facing the challenges of losing coworkers and friends.”
People Can Fly’s latest round of layoffs follows the studio’s decision to cut “more than 30” jobs in January of this year. Those layoffs followed reported changes to the budget and scope of Project Gemini (a collaboration with Square Enix that the studio had previously admitted was facing challenges) and Take-Two’s decision to back out of publishing People Can’s Project Dagger. Fly in September of last year. Along with several other unannounced games, the studio continues to work on the Microsoft-funded Project Maverick, based on one of the latter’s IPs.
Today’s news continues a devastating 2024 for the games industry, with more than 14,600 industry employees believed to have lost their jobs since the start of the year, and that’s on top of the 10,500 workers laid off in 2023. So why are these layoffs occurring? GamesIndustry.biz’s Chris Dring shared his thoughts earlier this year.
