Gaming company Skydance Games announced layoffs yesterday, just a month after its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
As of now, it is not known how many employees were impacted by the job cuts. The projects that are affected by the latest move are also unknown.
On Oct. 6, Skydance, which owns Paramount Games Studio after merging with Paramount, merged with Warner Bros. last month, combining the Paramount Games Studio with Warner Bros. Games. By overseeing one team, the gaming company is responsible for developing projects related to a number of franchises, including “Harry Potter,” “Game of Thrones,” “South Park,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” “The Godfather,” and anything to do with the DC Universe.
Through the acquisition, Paramount Games merged with notable video game developers, including Avalanche Software, Rocksteady Studios, TT Games and NetherRealm Studios.
The recent job cuts are reportedly being made to set Skydance Games up for future growth and success.
“We have stepped back and taken some time to consider where we are investing our efforts and have made the difficult decision to scale down some of our projects. As a result, there are roles impacted,” said a Skydance spokesperson in a statement to Variety. “This is not a reflection of the talent, dedication, or creativity of those affected and we are grateful for their contributions. We are committed to approaching the process with transparency, care and respect for those who are leaving the company.”
This year, a number of video game companies have announced a series of layoffs.
In July, Xbox announced layoffs of about 3,200 employees through to the beginning of next year. Several studios were affected, including Arkane Lyon, Ninja Theory, Double Fine Productions, Compulsion Games and Undead Labs.
Late last month, Electronic Arts also announced job cuts, laying off around 400 employees. That was roughly 3% of its total staff. The layoffs came as the company struggled with $18 billion in debt. Before the job cuts, the company said it wanted to save up to $700 million by cutting research and development.
Although the employees were laid off, EA said that several of their projects, including their sports games, the upcoming Star Wars Jedi title, an unnamed project revolving around Marvel’s Iron Man and “Apex Legends” will all move forward in production.
Sony also announced midyear layoffs at Bungie. Bungie is the studio that is behind Marathon, Halo and Destiny.
At least 292 employees were affected.
