Crystal Dynamics’ explanation for the layoffs is so ridiculous that it’s hard to take seriously. The company announced on LinkedIn that it had laid off nearly 30 developers as part of a current restructuring.

This is the second round of layoffs the team has carried out this year. The company called the decision difficult but necessary, stating that it was made to optimize development of the next major Tomb Raider game.

“Today, we made the difficult but necessary decision to reorganize Crystal Dynamics’ studios and teams. As a result, we’ve parted ways with just under 30 team members across various departments and projects as we restructure the company and business for the next generation. Crystal thanks all those impacted for their talent, hard work, and dedication, which helped shape the studio. We are committed to offering our fullest resources and support to those affected during this transition. To our players: As the realities of the industry continue to evolve, we have made these painful choices to optimize the continued development of our flagship Tomb Raider game and to shape the rest of the studio to create new games for the future. We appreciate the continued support of our players, colleagues, and partners during this transition and look forward to sharing the team’s amazing new work with the world.”

It seems contradictory for a studio to lay off staff to optimize development because fewer people working on the game means the remaining employees must do more with fewer resources. This appears to cause more bottlenecks than optimization.

Hopefully, we’ll hear more about the upcoming Tomb Raider game soon. For now, the next major project in the franchise seems to be the upcoming film starring Sophie Turner from Game of Thrones.

How can fewer people accomplish more work and call it optimization?

Source: WCCFTech, LinkedIn