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Funding Loss Leaves Gravity Well With a Much Smaller Team
By GamesHub
Gravity Well has laid off more than 40 developers after losing its funding, leaving the independent studio founded by Respawn Entertainment alumni operating with a much smaller team. The studio says it is still looking for a new partner, but its future is uncertain.
The cuts were reported by GamesIndustry.biz on Wednesday 7 October, following a leadership statement explaining that Gravity Well lost its funding over the summer. The news lands amid wider upheaval across game development, including significant job losses at major studios.
A smaller team will carry on
The studio’s three leaders, Drew McCoy, Jon Shiring and Mon Saetern, said staff were kept informed as the situation developed. Employees knew layoffs were possible if Gravity Well could not secure new funding, and the leadership said it was sorry it could not find a solution in time to keep the team together.
More than 40 developers have now left, which the studio described as the majority of its team. A much smaller group will continue operating while Gravity Well fights to secure a new partner; the leadership also asked other companies to consider hiring the affected developers.
That uncertainty is painfully familiar across the industry. The closure of Nerial is another reminder that even experienced teams can be left without a clear path forward when projects and funding hit trouble.
What Gravity Well was building
Gravity Well was founded in 2020 by Drew McCoy and Jon Shiring, who had previously worked at Respawn Entertainment on games including Titanfall and Apex Legends, according to earlier studio coverage. The team’s roots in those shooter series made Gravity Well an intriguing name for fans who have been waiting to see what its developers would make outside Respawn.
The studio had also planned to stay relatively small, with earlier reports putting its intended peak at around 80 to 85 people. Its approach included remote work and a stated focus on avoiding crunch, alongside flexible benefits and profit-sharing. Those plans help explain why losing a majority of the team is such a significant setback, though they do not establish what will happen to the studio’s project.
The next step depends on new funding
For now, Gravity Well says it is searching for a new partner and continuing with the smaller team that remains. Its leaders have described the studio’s future as uncertain in the current industry climate, without announcing a specific outcome for its work.
The immediate priority is finding a way to keep the studio going while its former developers look for their next roles. That is a tough outcome for a team built by veterans of some of gaming’s most recognisable shooters-and another sobering example of how quickly funding trouble can reshape a studio. Other development teams have also faced staffing uncertainty close to launch, underlining how precarious game development can be at very different stages.
| Studio | Funding status | Staffing impact | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gravity Well | Lost funding over the summer | More than 40 developers laid off | Seeking a new partner with a smaller team |
