Thunderful Group, which develops and publishes the acclaimed SteamWorld series along with several other titles, has announced it will lay off between 80 and 100 employees as part of its second round of “restructuring” in less than a year, saying it “sees no other alternatives in to ensure the long-term sustainability and resilience of the Group”.
Thunderful was born in 2017 after the merger of Swedish indie developers Image & Form and Zoink, and has since expanded to include several other publishers and developers, including Cloud Gardens studio Coatsink and Somerville developer Jumpship. In January, the company announced it would lay off around 20 per cent of its staff as part of a “restructuring programme” which management believed would “strengthen the group’s long-term competitive position”, but it now appears that Thunderful has failed to achieve its initial objective.
In a statement shared on its website, Thunderful, which also sold its distribution business earlier this year, confirmed it was undertaking a new round of restructuring as it looks to reduce in-house development and “double down” on third-party game publishing.
“While significant reductions in cost levels have been achieved this year,” he explained, “revenue targets have not been met and the Group is still struggling with negative cash flow.” As a result, the company has made the decision to lay off “a large part of the development team”, which will affect between 80 and 100 employees. Thunderful says its shift from in-house development to external publishing “will reduce the Group’s fixed costs and enable greater flexibility, enabling faster and more diverse game releases by leveraging external talent and resources in a balanced way, while maintaining certain capacity for internal development”. ”
“It is regrettable to announce a second restructuring of Thunderful in less than a year,” added Thunderful Group CEO Martin Walfisz, “but unfortunately we see no other alternatives to ensure the long-term sustainability and resilience of the Group…” “There are many talented and dedicated employees, and we are very sorry that we are forced to part ways.”
In February, Thunderful admitted that last year’s SteamWorld Build, the first new game in the SteamWorld series since 2019, “did not meet expectations” and that it was putting the previously announced SteamWorld Headhunter “on hold.” Its most recent title, SteamWorld Heist 2, arrived in August and earned three out of five stars in Eurogamer’s review. “The core of SteamWorld Heist still burns bright in this turn-based tactics sequel,” wrote Katharine Castle, “but its bid to go further and better is a risk that hasn’t paid off.”
