The Piranha Games team behind MechWarrior has taken a heavy hit, and while the studio insists work is continuing, the franchise no longer looks like the kind of stable pillar it once did.
Russ Bullock, CEO of Piranha Games, has confirmed that the studio did indeed go through a layoff round, cutting roughly 30% of its staff. The story first surfaced through posts on LinkedIn, where multiple employees said they had been let go, with at least some of them describing the move as part of an economic restructuring. The company did not issue a formal announcement of its own, but Bullock later acknowledged on X that it had been a brutal day and that the team was still continuing work on DLC.
Not accurate. It was 30% of the staff which was a horrible day no doubt but we do still continue to work on DLC.
— Russ Bullock (@russ_bullock) April 2, 2026
According to PC Gamer, the cuts affected 17 employees, which is not exactly a minor trim for a studio of this size. Bullock also said the MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries DLC announced in March is still on track for May, and that another MechWarrior product is also planned for the fall. So the machine is still moving, but it is clearly being asked to carry on with far fewer hands on deck than before.
It’s been a brutal week. And while I’m not as free to say things as some others, to those who have reached out, yes, I am still employed, and yes, I am still working on MechWarrior.
Layoffs are never fun and I had to say goodbye to many longtime friends and colleagues. (1/3)
— Chris Lowrey (@Chris_C_Lowrey) April 2, 2026
The mood inside the studio was underlined by MechWarrior 5: Clans narrative director Chris Lowrey, who described the week as brutal, said he had to say goodbye to many longtime colleagues, and admitted he honestly does not know how much longer the team can keep the ship afloat. That hits harder because this is not an isolated event. Piranha’s parent company, Enad Global 7, already cut 38 jobs at the studio in January 2025, only a few months after the release of MechWarrior 5: Clans. At the time, the official explanation was that the game had failed to expand its audience and did not meet the necessary sales targets.
Put together, this looks less like a rough patch and more like a franchise trying to survive on shrinking margins and stubborn commitment. MechWarrior is not dead, the DLC pipeline is still alive, and the remaining team clearly wants to keep supporting the series. But when a studio loses roughly a third of its staff while still promising to press ahead, that usually points to endurance mode rather than confidence. Right now, the message is simple enough: the mechs are still walking, but the ground under them is looking a lot less solid.
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