People Can Fly, the team behind games like Outriders, Bulletstorm VR and Gears of War: Judgement is the latest studio to announce mass layoffs, and this time more than 120 developers are being let go.
The news was announced with a statement from the studio’s chief executive officer Sebastian Wojciechowski published to the studio’s official Twitter account, where Wojciechowski also announces that the studio’s work to self-publish games will be suspended, and its Project Bifrost will be scaled down.
In the statement, Wojciechowski called the action “necessary as external market pressures persisted beyond our forecasts. The video game market is still evolving, and we have to adjust with where things are today. We are redoubling our efforts with new work for hire engagements and focusing on development of a single independent game.”
This announcement confirms that People Can Fly is ending 2024 the way it began – with layoffs, though back in January it was only a little more than 30 people being let go, which only feels like a small amount relative to the over 120 being laid off in this round.
At this point it’s unclear exactly which of People Can Fly’s projects are still ongoing. This statement confirms that Project Victoria, which was to be self-published, has been suspended, while Project Bifrost now has a smaller team.
Then there’s Project Gemini, which we last heard about in February 2024 with news that it was still going thanks to a short-term influx of support. The studio also has deals for a Project Maverick that’ll be published by Xbox, a Project Echo that’s to be published by Krafton and then a Project Bison that was to be another self-published title.
Since Bifrost and Victoria are the only two self-published titles mentioned in today’s statement, and the latter has been suspended, it’s probably safe to say the only title People Can Fly has on the go that is it’s own independent project is Bifrost.
As for Project’s Echo, Gemini and Maverick, since they seem to still have publishing deals, those might be alright. But layoffs only put a greater strain on the developers left behind, which in turn puts greater strain on the projects they have to try and complete without the help they once had.
Earlier this year the studio cancelled Project Dagger after its publisher, Take-Two, backed out of the deal. Then there’s the fact that we’re still unclear if its last major release (outside of Bulletstorm VR), Outriders, ever made any money.
As of March 2023, more than two years after launch, the game had yet to turn a profit, with People Can Fly still receiving no royalty payments from the game’s publisher Square Enix, which is also currently publishing its Project Gemini title.
Multiple projects, all in various states of development (though most of them early) and the studio’s last two major projects not exactly setting the world on fire spells the real reasoning for these layoffs rather than “external market pressures.”
It’s unfortunate, as it always is, to see talented people lose their job because management decided to take on far more than the studio could’ve reasonably handled.
Gemini, Echo, Maverick, and Bifrost still makes four titles on the go, and if they hadn’t cancelled or suspended the rest, that would mean it had 7 projects on the go at once, most of them years away from launch.
Another 120+ people losing their jobs because for some reason, the people in charge, like Wojciechowski, couldn’t see the simple logic that having that many major projects on the go was untenable for even the biggest publishers in the industry, let alone a team that remains independent without a larger parent company backing them.
You can see the full statement from Wojciechowski, below.
“Today, we made a very difficult decision to reduce our self-publishing strategy by suspending Project Victoria, scaling down our team on Project Bifrost and restructuring some of our supporting teams at People Can Fly.
We are deeply saddened by the fact that this situation means suspending or parting ways with more than 120 talented Aviators, colleagues who we enjoyed having as part of our team.
This action became necessary as external market pressures persisted beyond our forecasts. The video game market is still evolving, and we have to adjust with where things are today. We are redoubling our efforts with new work for hire engagements and focusing on development of a single independent game.
We believe in our teams, games, and their potential, and we remain extremely committed to continuing that journey, but we need to tailor our plans to our financial capacity.
We are deeply grateful for the contributions of every team member impacted by this turn of events; their talent and dedication have helped shape our company and our games. These changes are deeply felt by all of us.
We recognize this is a profoundly challenging time for our team members, as we say goodbye to valued colleagues who have contributed so much. We are focused on supporting those impacted during this transition providing them with resources and assistance to navigate this change, and are equally committed to caring for those staying, who are managing the challenges of losing coworkers and friends.
Our priority is to approach this moment with compassion and to ensure our team feels supported as we work together to build a stronger future.
In this hard moment our dedication to excellence and creativity remains as strong as ever. For everyone who loves what we create – we will not give up on our dreams.
Sebastian Wojciechowski, CEO.”
Source – [People Can Fly]