Today Digital Bros has announced an organizational review that is expected to result in layoffs affecting 30% of its workforce.
If you’re unfamiliar with the name, some of its subsidiaries may ring a bell, including 505 Games and Assetto Corsa developer Kunos Simulazioni.
The announcement, made via press release, mentions that the company is undergoing an organizational review across its development and publishing studios.
The decision is motivated by the video game market having become “more selective in terms of new games with consumers increasingly reverting to well established Intellectual Properties and playing these same games for longer periods.”
As a result, Digital Bros is focusing on the release of sequels and new versions of established and successful games, with only a limited number of higher-budget new productions.
The company also “has reconsidered the number of projects under development,” which means some games have likely been canceled, albeit no titles were mentioned in the press release and no specific details were shared.
Unfortunately, this is expected to lead to a 30% reduction of Digital Bros’ workforce, mostly focused within the company’s studios.
The company also reassures its investors that this isn’t going to impact the expected profit and loss for the fiscal year due to saving money by reducing payroll costs. I’m sure investors will be pleased by the news.
Incidentally, we already know that Kunos Simulazioni is working on Assetto Corsa 2, albeit we don’t know whether the layoffs will affect development. The focus on creating sequels may mean that the game is safe, but the details are unknown.
2023 has been an annus horribilis for employment in the gaming industry, with layoffs hitting companies of all sizes, including giants like Microsoft, Sony, Epic Games, Embracer Group, Ubisoft, and Amazon, and smaller teams like Bungie, Frontier, Team17, Cryptic Studios, Digital Extremes, Humble Games, and Motorsport Games.
