People Can Fly, the Polish developer behind games like Outriders and Bulletstorm, is reportedly the latest to be hit by layoffs. Over 30 people have been impacted, all working on an as-yet-unannounced game codenamed Project Gemini, which was to be published by Square Enix.
That's according to a report from Kotaku, who received email confirmation from development director Adam Alker that, due to budget limitations and shrinking scope, the company was letting "over 30 people" go. Additionally, another 20 staff members working on Gemini will be reassigned to other in-development projects.
Alker wished the just-made redundant staff well in their future endeavours: "To those individuals transitioning out of the studio due to these changes, we extend our sincere appreciation for the skills and expertise you brought to the team. We will keep our fingers crossed for your next steps in game dev and offer all our support."
Following a brutal 2023, in which an estimated third of all companies in the industry reported layoffs, 2024 is shaping up to be even bloodier. Kotaku is doing the grim but essential work of tracking these statistics; as it stands, 24 days into 2024, some 3,900 jobs have been lost across developers, publishers, and other video game-related companies, hot on the heels of at least 6,000 reported from last year. At this rate, that number will be toppled by the end of next month.
As always, we hope those affected land on their feet and the situation stabilizes soon. At the rate it's going, though, we wouldn't count on it happening anytime soon.
[source kotaku.com]
Comments 19
people can fly make good games they just havnt had a great one yet that has really taken off
they should hit up david jaffe and give us another twisted metal!!
edit - wait the last twisted metal was made by eat sleep play , my bad
This sucks. I really enjoyed outriders and saw it through to the platinum. The end game was fairly decent as well. I hope all affected find work as they are some truly talented devs.
Not looking good there, Outriders was unprofitable and what should have been a quick win, Bulletstorm VR, is turning into a PR disaster.
Sucks, they're a decent dev. They seem to have 5 projects in development. They're gonna need a hit there otherwise I think its over for them
Outriders was ok the always online was a turnoff for me. If you want me to commit to always online game where I have to play all the time it has to be fantastic and it was just ok for me and let's not forget the connection problems with a always online game. Sucks that people lost their jobs over this .
Can't we just make a news about the studios that didn't have layoffs?
I was really looking forward Outriders, but always online kept me away and I'll try it only if it goes to PS+.
I don't understand why always online is such a turnoff. I mean, it's not nice but it will never stop me from trying a game. I mean, where does these people live that they're still on dail up. All of the best to the devs out of work.
I still say that theres more people than ever working in games. Alot of games being made amd potentially too many for the market in generally
@NojahZA I don't know why a offline option is such a big issue they could do optional online on a PS2.
At the same time this new studio:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/thats-no-moon-entertainment/
has been hiring for about two years or more, and still has lots of job openings. They have about 51-200 employees and still haven't said a peep about what kind of game they are working on. Taylor Kurosaki is CEO.
@djlard
It is currently on PS+ Extra. I played it about a month ago and it was enjoyable.
@Flaming_Kaiser we are no longer in ps2 era when people only had dial up,
I think I am the only one actually really liked this game
Outriders was solid, I just think they made a terrible decision to put it on GamePass. It likely cost them loads of money, because I actually think it would have sold fine thanks to positive word of mouth.
I played it on PS+ Extra and enjoyed it quite a bit. A good, "turn off your brain and shoot stuff" sort of game. It did some things really well that I think a lot of other looter shooters and ARPGs could take note of (like the cosmetics, the upgrade system, the ease of respeccing)... I am looking forward to the sequel, if it ever comes, for sure.
Outriders was fun but Bulletstorm is their true gem. Such an underrated game IMHO. Would love to see a sequel but I doubt that will ever happen. None the less, I wish the best to the folks out of a job over there and I hope they find gainful, steady employment quickly!
@MFTWrecks So, you think it was a bad idea for them to put it on Gamepass but you played it on PS+ Extra? The math is not mathing.
@pharos_haven Going day one on Game Pass and costing them LOADS of $60-70 purchases is far far different than going to PS+ Extra months and months after the bulk of the game's sales have tapered off.
Plus, I wasn't the one to make the business decision for going to either service. While I think they can be dumb business decisions, I have no requirement to spend more money than I have to as a consumer. I took advantage of their decision. That's their fault for giving me the opportunity.
It would be outright stupid of me to have paid for the game when I could access it at no extra cost to myself. That's called wasting money.
@Slayer25c And somehow with better tech we get less and less options. The choice of playing alone had nothing to do with a dailup connection.
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