Humble Games
Image: Humble Games

The entire staff of Humble Games, the publisher behind such games as Unpacking, Slay the Spire, and Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus, has been the subject of a mass layoff, according to LinkedIn posts from affected staff members. The news came to light after staff posted announcing that their time with the studio has come to an end (thanks, Eurogamer).

Nicola Kwan, a business development manager at the studio, wrote, "At 9AM this morning, all 36 employees of Humble Games were told that we were being let go and that the company is shutting down."

Technical release manager Brandon Boswell echoed that all staff at Humble Games had been subject to the layoffs, writing, "Unfortunately all of us at Humble Games were impacted today and a lot of good people are looking for work and would really appreciate your support.

In a statement posted to LinkedIn, Humble Games confirmed that it has "made the difficult but necessary decision to restructure our operations", and a spokesperson told to Eurogamer that Humble Games is "not shutting down."

However, artist Chris Radley posted that all current projects will be completed by a third party, with the mass layoff affecting all current Humble Games staff. "I want it to be made abundantly clear," he wrote, "this is NOT a restructuring of operations. This is a total shutdown of #HumbleGames. Operations have been handed off to a third party consultancy. NO staff are left."

Ryan Brown of Lost In Cult wrote on Twitter saying that after speaking with various former staff, "The 'restructuring' is that nobody works there anymore. It no longer exists."

Chris Radley goes on to suggest that the official statement posted on the Humble Bundle LinkedIn page was written by AI, a supposition also shared on social media by Larian Games' publishing director, Michael Douse:

Here is Humble Games' official statement on the subject, as posted to LinkedIn:

In these challenging economic times for indie game publishing, Humble Games has made the difficult but necessary decision to restructure our operations. This decision was not made lightly; it involved much deliberation and careful thought, with the goal of ensuring the stability and support of our developers and ongoing projects. Additionally, the restructuring of operations at Humble Games will have no impact on operations at Humble Bundle.

We are acutely aware of the profound impact this decision has on our team members at Humble Games and deeply empathize with everyone affected. Our team's contributions have been world-class and invaluable, supporting the launch of our games since we started publishing in 2017. We are committed to navigating this transition with as much empathy and understanding as possible.

Supporting our development partners and assisting former team members remains our top priority. We are committed to making this transition as smooth as possible for everyone involved. Thank you for your support and compassion during this challenging period. It is deeply appreciated.

This is but the latest round of layoffs in a year that has seen similar stories from the likes of Sony, Microsoft, NetherRealm, and many more studios.

We'll let you know if we hear any significant developments or updates. Full transparency: Humble Games is owned by Ziff Davis, which also owns Gamer Network (comprising Eurogamer, Rock Paper Shotgun, and several other gaming sites - and with whom Nintendo Life and Hookshot Media sites are partnered for ad sales) following its acquisition of Reedpop earlier this year.

[source eurogamer.net]