Phoenix Labs has canceled all of the studio’s projects in development to focus on Dauntless and Fae Farm, laying off more than 100 employees.
Phoenix Labs has announced on LinkedIn that it will focus on supporting these two live service games, but has canceled all other projects. Nicole Carpenter, editor of Polygon, spoke with two people from the studio and found out that the number of people laid off is in the triple digits and that one of the games they were developing was close to being announced, so it could have been announced as early as June, say during Summer Game Fest.
Major layoffs at Fae Farm, Dauntless dev Phoenix Labs today. Two sources said over 100 people have been impacted. On LinkedIn, a former worker said all in development games have been cancelled, including one about to be announced. Devastating news — so sorry to those impacted. pic.twitter.com/H4LLH6jY3C
— Nicole Carpenter (@sweetpotatoes) May 16, 2024
On LinkedIn, Phoenix Labs’ announcement reads: “Today is an incredibly difficult day. After a long period of evaluating how to navigate our economic environment, we have had to significantly restructure the company to pave the way for a strong future. We are reorganizing Phoenix Labs to focus on our best-in-class live service titles, Dauntless and Fae Farm, and serving their communities. Unfortunately, this means stopping work on all other projects at the studio, which will immediately affect many of our colleagues. We are in the process of giving notice to everyone whose roles are affected.
This restructuring was not easy, and was truly the last resort to ensure that Phoenix Labs can survive and thrive in the long term. It’s impossible to put into words how much we value every talented individual who has contributed their hard work and passion to every project at our studio. We are doing everything we can to support our departing team members during this interim period and encourage any studios looking for incredible talent to speak with the unique people who have been a part of Phoenix Labs’ journey,” the studio wrote.
It’s clear from this announcement that the state of the gaming industry is not so healthy these days, and it’s no coincidence that a lot of people are being laid off from studios. The bigger the company, the more people lose their jobs.
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