Deck Nine Games has announced its second major round of layoffs for 2024, confirming an unknown number of staff will depart the company ahead of the holiday period. The news follows the late October launch of Life is Strange: Double Exposure, a game which received decidedly mixed reception. It was not cited as the reason for the layoffs, but it’s not a particularly good sign for the performance of the game, or the studio’s health.
Notably, Deck Nine Games cut 20% of its staff in February this year, and also cut staff in 2023. It appears the studio will continue to operate despite these layoffs, although with a now significantly reduced staff.
“Today, we are sad to share the news that we must say goodbye to some of our talented team members,” an X message from Mark Lyons, CEO of Deck Nine reads. “This was an extremely difficult decision and reflects the challenging times many companies in our industry are currently facing. We are extremely grateful to every individual who has dedicated their hard work, passion, and commitment to making transformative entertainment with us.”
“To those of you leaving the studio due to these changes, thank you for sharing your talents with us. We are proud of what we were able to accomplish together and we are committed to supporting you in this transition in any way we can. To the community, we ask for your support and understanding during this difficult time.”
Read: Life is Strange: Double Exposure review – A tale of two worlds
At this stage, it’s unclear how many employees have been laid off, and how this may impact development work in future. Based on the narrative of Life is Strange: Double Exposure, Deck Nine Games has plans to continue expanding the franchise – but these ambitions will be difficult to realise, following three significant rounds of layoffs over the last two years.
As noted by IGN, Deck Nine Games has experienced difficulties even beyond these layoffs, over the last few years. In a far-reaching report, the website spoke to several employees who alleged a culture of “toxicity, hate speech, crunch, and more,” with this allegedly breeding a poor workplace culture.
It’s unclear what the future holds for the studio, as it reckons with its latest round of layoffs, and internal company changes. It’s also unclear what this means for the Life is Strange franchise, which has been under Deck Nine’s stewardship since 2017.
In any case, as always, our thoughts are with those impacted by the layoffs at Deck Nine.
