Video Game Layoffs and Studio Closures 2025

[Astrogamer]

Felt like we needed a thread to better gauge the layoffs so this thread will be updated with new stories of layoffs and studio closures over the year. This is what I've found thus far, excluding stories about 2024 layoffs.

Splash Damage layoffs after Transformers: Reactivate cancellation - January 8

Splash Damage jobs at risk following Transformers: Reactivate cancellation

Splash Damage has cancelled its 1-4 player online action game, Transformers: Reactivate, putting an unknown number of j…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Counterplay Games quietly closed - January 13

Report: Godfall dev Counterplay Games has quietly closed down

Beyond Godfall, Counterplay developed the now-defunct digital card game Duelyst, which released in 2016.

www.gamedeveloper.com

Robocraft 2 developer Freejam shuts down - January 13

Robocraft 2 developer Freejam shuts down

Robocraft 2 developer Freejam has shut down.

www.gamesindustry.biz

Enad Global 7 shutdowns Toadman Interactive, Piranha Games layoffs - January 13

Toadman Interactive shuts down, layoffs at Piranha Games

Last week, Swedish games firm Enad Global 7 (EG7) initiated the "wind down" of Toadman Interactive and laid off 38 empl…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Microsoft lays off unknown number of staff - January 15

Microsoft to lay off unknown number of staff

Microsoft has announced another round of layoffs, affecting staff in its gaming, security, and sales divisions.

www.gamesindustry.biz

Soul Assembly lays off 15% of staff - January 16

Soul Assembly cuts 15% of workforce

Just Dance VR developer Soul Assembly has laid off 15% of its staff.

www.gamesindustry.biz

Huuuge Games cuts 29% of workforce - January 17

Huuuge Games cuts 29% of workforce

Poland-based Mobile developer and publisher Huuuge Games has announced a 29% cut in its workforce, affecting 122 employ…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Reflector Entertainment confirms layoffs after Unknown 9: Awakening - January 22

Reflector confirms layoffs as Unknown 9: Awakening failed to meet "expectations"

Unknown 9 developer Reflector has notified teams of redundancies following the decision "to not greenlight" an unannoun…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Ubisoft announces Leamington studio closure as it lays off 18 - January 27

Ubisoft announces studio closure as it lays off 185 staff

Ubisoft is set to close its UK studio based in Leamington, as it sheds 185 jobs across the business.

www.eurogamer.net

Moon Active lays off dozens despite record revenue - January 28

Moon Active reportedly lays off "dozens" of staff despite "record revenues exceeding $2 billion" in 2024

Israeli mobile developer Moon Active has reportedly laid off dozens of staff as part of an organisational restructuring effort.

www.pocketgamer.biz

Phoenix Labs lays off "majority" of workforce - January 28

Phoenix Labs lays off "majority" of workforce

Vancouver-based developer Phoenix Labs has laid off the "majority" of its staff.

www.gamesindustry.biz

Bend Studio cuts contractors following game cancellation - January 29

Report: Bend Studio cuts contract staff following live-service cancellation

Bend and Bluepoint's projects were recently canceled by PlayStation as the publisher shifts away from live-service games.

www.gamedeveloper.com

BioWare cuts staff, shuffles others to different EA teams - January 29

BioWare cuts staff, shuffles others to different EA teams amid Mass Effect focus

An unknown number of developers have been laid off, while others have been moved over to work at other EA subsidiaries.

www.gamedeveloper.com

Sumo Group to refocus on "development services for partners", with restructure and potential layoffs - February 4

Sumo Group to refocus business on "development services for partners"

Sumo Group has announced it will be refocusing its business to cater "exclusively on development services for partners"…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Iron Galaxy lay off 66 developers - February 5

Iron Galaxy lays off 66 to protect "long-term survival"

Iron Galaxy has laid off 66 developers.

www.gamesindustry.biz

ProbablyMonsters has another round of layoffs - February 5

Update: ProbablyMonsters confirms more layoffs after pledging to build 'stable home for developers'

Social media posts from impacted employees indicate more jobs have been placed on the chopping block.

www.gamedeveloper.com

Hi-Rez Studios lays off at least 20 - February 6

Dozens of developers reportedly impacted by another round of cuts at Hi-Rez Studios

At least 20 staff have lost their jobs following another round of cuts at Smite developer Hi-Rez Studios.

www.gamesindustry.biz

Crytek cuts 15% of workforce - February 12

Crytek cuts 15% of workforce, Crysis 4 put on hold

German developer Crytek has announced it is cutting its workforce by 15%, affecting around 60 employees on its developm…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Unity lays off numerous developers, including Behavior team - February 12

Breaking: Unity Lays Off a Number of Developers With a 5 AM Email

Apparently, the entire Unity Behavior team was cut, alongside many other employees.

80.lv

10:10 Games layoffs - February 17

10:10 Games reportedly affected by staff cuts

Funko Fusion developer 10:10 has reportedly been hit with layoffs, with around 20 workers affected.

www.gamesindustry.biz

Liquid Swords layoffs - February 17

Liquid Swords confirms layoffs after pledging to implement 'sustainable work model'

The studio was founded by former Avalanche Studios CCO Christofer Sundberg in 2020 and previously received an investment from NetEase.

www.gamedeveloper.com

Netflix cuts Night School Studio staff - February 18

Netflix-owned Night School Studio cuts undisclosed number of staff

Night School Studio has cut an undisclosed number of staff.

www.gamesindustry.biz

NetEase Seattle closed - February 18

Marvel Rivals US support studio hit with layoffs

NetEase Games has confirmed layoffs have occurred within a US support studio for Marvel Rivals.

www.gamesindustry.biz

Toast Interactive lays off majority of staff - February 18

VR dev Toast Interactive lays off majority of staff

The remaining Toast staff will continue to support its two VR games, Richie's Plank Experience and 2024's Max Mustard.

www.gamedeveloper.com

Bossa Games layoffs - February 24

Surgeon Simulator developer Bossa Games confirms layoffs amid industry 'turmoil'

The studio intends to reshape into small teams working on 'novel game ideas brought to players as early as possible.'

www.gamedeveloper.com

Supercell closes Space Ape, with 30 laid off - February 24

RIP Space Ape: 70 join Supercell London, 30 laid off, remaining titles to spin out

Chrome Valley Customs and Fastlane will soon be published by new studio Offroad Games, we’re told, while Chinese publisher Yodo1 takes on Transformers: Earth Wars.

mobilegamer.biz

WB Games shuts down Monolith Production, Player First and WB Sand Diego - February 25

WB Games shuts down three internal studios, including Monolith and Player First

WB Games' struggles continue with the closures of Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB San Diego.

www.gamedeveloper.com

Striking Distance layoffs - March 3

Striking Distance Studios lays off unknown number of staff

Krafton has confirmed that Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance Studios has undergone another round of layoffs.

www.gamesindustry.biz

Studio Fizbin shuttering after Reignbreaker release - March 3

Studio Fizbin shutting down after Reignbreaker's mid-March release

Fizbin, which also developed Say No! More and the Inner World duology, will close its doors after an 11-year run.

www.gamedeveloper.com

Sony Visual Arts and Malaysia layoffs - March 5

Report: Sony lays off employees at Visual Arts and PS Studios Malaysia

First-party PlayStation support studio Visual Arts and PS Studios Malaysia have reportedly been affected by staff cuts.

www.gamesindustry.biz

Ballistic Moon "effective closed" - March 5

Exclusive - Until Dawn Remake Developer Ballistic Moon “Effectively Closed”

Insider Gaming has learned that Until Dawn remake developer Ballistic Moon is "effectively closed" after failing to get funding or a publisher

insider-gaming.com

Respawn has small cuts after cancelling unannounced FPS - March 7

Respawn lays off staff, cancels another unannounced game

The alleged project was said to be developed by the same team behind Respawn's scrapped first-person Star Wars game.

www.gamedeveloper.com

Mountaintop Studios to close alongside Spectre Divide shutdown - March 12

I

Industry News  Thread 'Mountaintop Studios to close; Spectre Divide to Shut Down after 7 months'

Mar 12, 2025

game just made it to 7 months. part of the marketing was that Shroud, a notable esports player was assisting with the game. unfortunately the game fell off quickly. the game also released on consoles a couple weeks ago

https://steamdb.info/app/2641470/charts/#6m

• ILikeFeet
• Replies: 5
• Forum: The Market

Farm51, Chernobylite 2 developer lays off 15 - March 14

Zmiany w koncepcji rozwoju gry Chernobylite 2 » The Farm 51

Pracując nad Chernobylite 2 w trudnym dla branży okresie, aby zachować niezależność od zewnętrznych podmiotów, zdecydowaliśmy się na samodzielne wydanie gry we Wczesnym Dostępie na Steam. Braliśmy pod uwagę różne scenariusze dalszego tworzenia projektu, w tym również w oparciu o odbiór...

www.thefarm51.com

Niantic Spatial layoffs (over 68 employees) - March 20

https://www.gamedeveloper.com/busin...ter-selling-its-game-business-for-3-5-billion

Crystal Dynamics layoffs - March 26

Crystal Dynamics (@CrystalDynamics)

This morning, Crystal Dynamics made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce by 17 talented team members. We did not make this decision lightly. Ultimately, this step was necessary to better align our current (cont) http://spr.ly/l/6010F8AdQ

xcancel.com

Cyan World lays off half staff - March 28

Myst developer Cyan Worlds has laid off half of its workforce

'Our sincere hope is to continue to be around.'

www.gamedeveloper.com

Eidos Montreal layoffs - March 31

https://xcancel.com/EidosMontreal/status/1906728993061020142

 

[Lelouch0612]

Mark Brown, from Game Maker Toolkit, mentioned that one of the studio he was talking to port his game to Switch got closed when the talks were still going on.

Just shows how dire the situation is in terms of funding in the gaming industry right now.

 

[fiendcode]

That OP is already depressingly large.

 

[Koni]

That OP is already depressingly large.

The worst part is that I'm surprised this thread wasnt a thing last year, since we already knew layoffs were gonna be bad going into 2024. Says a lot about the state of the industry.

 

[Astrogamer]

Dumb Ways to Die studio, Playside, lays off staff after record quarter - April 3

Australian studio PlaySide is making layoffs after delivering record revenue

The company has announced a restructuring plan in response to waning contract work, but the news comes just months after it reported record annual revenue of $64.6 million AUD.

www.gamedeveloper.com

Microids Studio Paris closure, shortly before new game release - April 7

AppLovin cuts 97 jobs including CEO of Machine Zone - April 17

AppLovin cuts another 97 jobs, including CEO of subsidiary studio Machine Zone

AppLovin has laid off 97 people, including "most of" the staff employed at subsidiary studio Machine Zone and its CEO.

www.gamesindustry.biz

Devolver Digital lays off 40% of Nerial staff - April 22

Devolver Digital cuts 40% of staff at subsidiary studio Nerial

Publisher Devolver Digital has reduced its workforce at subsidiary studio, Nerial, by 40 percent.

www.gamesindustry.biz

 

[Aostia82]

not good...especially a closing right after having finished a product and layoffs right after record profit generated...I mean...c'mon!