Double Fine Productions wasn’t spared from the layoffs that have become so common in the gaming industry. This was the price of breaking free from Xbox’s grasp.

Less than a month after breaking away from Xbox to operate as an independent studio once again, Double Fine Productions had to cut its staff by 23 people. According to the studio’s statement, this step was necessary to ensure its survival. In other words, recovering without Microsoft’s funding will be difficult.

“Today, Double Fine Productions let go of 23 members of its staff. As a small, tightly knit team, these actions are not taken lightly. Only the survival of our studio would make us consider such a painful action. Our transition to becoming an independent company means becoming a size that we can sustain. The people we are losing were all important. They all made an impact on our games and our company culture, and they will be missed. We are committed to supporting each affected person as best we can, and we thank them for their hard work and commitment to the creative spirit we cherish here at Double Fine,” wrote Tim Schafer.

The layoffs at Double Fine are sad but not entirely unexpected. Some fans praised Xbox for allowing Double Fine to become independent as part of the July restructuring, during which 3,200 people lost their jobs, rather than shutting down the studio outright. However, the reality is that without Microsoft’s support, the sudden transition to independence is risky for a studio known for unconventional games with modest sales figures, especially given the current state of the industry.

Compulsion Games, the other studio Microsoft released as an independent company, announced that it needed to downsize just one week later. Even before the Xbox layoffs earlier this month, many Compulsion employees were already looking for new jobs, presumably because they believed their positions at the studio would likely be eliminated.

It is unclear how many employees remain at Double Fine following the layoffs. According to Bloomberg editor Jason Schreier, the studio had 90 employees before the staff reductions.

Source: PCGamer, Bluesky