Developer Phoenix Labs – known for its work on Fae Farm and Dauntless – has announced that it has laid off "the majority of the studio", citing "unfortunate but necessary changes to our operations".
The move follows a previous round of layoffs back in May 2024, during which "about 140" employees were affected. The new statement, posted on LinkedIn, mentions that updates regarding both Fae Farm and Dauntless will be provided in the coming weeks, but that the current focus is on "supporting those affected through this transition".
Here's a look at the statement in full:
"Today is another difficult day at Phoenix Labs. We have made the tough decision to part ways with the majority of the studio as part of unfortunate but necessary changes to our operations.
"We recognize and deeply appreciate the contributions of every individual impacted. Their talent, dedication, our games. We will share more details in the coming weeks about what this means for Dauntless and Fae Farm. For now, our focus is on supporting those affected through this transition.
"To our industry peers, we encourage you to reach out to these exceptional individuals - they are some of the business."
Team members affected by the decision have since posted on BlueSky to provide further confirmation, including concept artist Kimberley Parker and senior tech designer 'ForgedPixels'.
Just yesterday, we also reported that Ubisoft has laid off 185 employees across its European teams, with the decision extending to the full closure of its 'Ubisoft Leamington' studio in Leaminton Spa, UK.
What do you make of this news from Phoenix Labs? Did you play Fae Farm or Dauntless on Switch? Let us know with a comment.
[source linkedin.com, via gamedeveloper.com]
Comments 24
Sad to hear. Dauntless wasn’t half bad.
Very unfortunate news from a studio that made two very solid games.
I think the problem was that both games are so vastly different from each other, that a fan of one game could not jump over to the other. Creating a fragmented fanbase that only liked one game.
Really unfortunate to hear, as always wish the best to those affected!
Sad to hear. I really hope everyone gets fixed up with new employment as soon as possible
I already experienced that when my studio (then onwned by Gameloft) was closed unexpectedly (60+people), and recently 5 of my current studio's team (we were just 20) also got laid off after the holidays.
The industry is in a terrible shape.
Aren't they owned by Tencent or NetEase?
Sad news.
While I wasn't the target audience, playing the Fae Farm demo gave off a feeling of heartfelt labor of love.
Hoping those affected find new fulfilling jobs soon
Just ordered Fae Farm this week, but not played it yet. Waited until it got cheaper because (a) saturation in the genre, and (b) mixed reviews.
With all the lays offs lately, soon there will be no one left to make games for us.
@KociolekDoSyta Calm down. There are more great games being made every year from new studios.
Sad news. Fae Farm was such a great one! Hope those laid off can find new employment soon.
From what one former dev has hinted at, it's higher ups making a mess and making the devs responsible. Given it's the in thing at so many studios I would not even be remotely surprised.
@Wool_Sheep sounds like every day at every company. It's sad to think about how none of your hard work ever gets appreciated and you can be laid off due to a horrible decision of an incompetent person earning 10x dough for looking at excel once in a blue moon
"They are some of the business."
I think that there are some missing words there...
@KociolekDoSyta
Except Ninty... They haven't laid off or fired anyone.
In fact, they hired!
@Spider-Kev
@Zeebor15 Wikipedia says they’re owned by Forte Labs, which is apparently a company that also participates in blockchain and crypto nonsense. Wouldn’t be surprised if that was something that played a part in Phoenix Labs’ employees getting screwed over like this.
I assume they went all in on Dauntless and it didn't pay off. I tried to enjoy that game, but the game never really evolved beyond the first few areas and monsters. It was mostly the same treadmill over and over. To enjoy the meta you really needed a set team of friends that complemented the meta. Instead, it was all PUGs and people would drop during the dropoff. If you stay in you end up having to fight a monster that was set to take on more people than ended up staying in. So I wonder if the game ended up being a net loss. I never did see large player counts for the few months I tried to enjoy the game.
It’s awful that putting people out of work like this is considered perfectly normal and “necessary” by the industry. Hopefully the support involves helping the people who were laid off find new jobs that are kore stable (preferably at places that aren’t owned by a company partaking in crypto/blockchain/GenAI stuff)
Layoffs like this are one of the reasons why I’m just a hobbyist game dev. Really hoping all of the people working in it are able to find stable jobs that treat them like human beings.
Sad to see it happen. Fae Farm looked like a good game with lovely music and lots of potential, but it needed a bit more polish if they really did want to stick to such a high price, what with the various reports of bugs and crashing. Not to mention the top-down viewpoint didn't help distinguish itself from all the myriad farm or cozy games out there. I enjoyed the demo, but I liked the music and art direction more than the actual game mechanics and presentation.
@Spider-Kev Also the part, "Their talent, dedication, our games."
It’s likely they expected a significant return on the most recent Dauntless update, but the community is in upheaval. It’s a real shame they didn’t do better as Monster Hunter could use some real competition in the hunting/crafting genre.
@Ulysses That was my only complaint about Fae Farm, the price. I enjoyed it but it became obvious very quickly that it was a $30 game that they charged $60 for. I was wanting to go back to it once all the DLC was out but I haven't had a chance yet. Hopefully the game itself isn't going to be affected by the layoffs.
They be remembered are some of the business for yes
This is depressing. How can the market supposed to bring joy be based on so much crap?
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