Fae Farm developer Phoenix Labs has announced its second round of layoffs for 2023, with an additional 34 staff set to lose their jobs. The decision was reportedly made as a result of structural changes, with support teams specialising in IT, HR, publishing, and shared services impacted.
“After a rigorous review we made the decision to change the structure of our support teams, and we have made the tough decision to reduce our workforce by a total of 34 people, across our publishing, HR, IT, and shared services teams,” a Phoenix Labs spokesperson told GamesIndustry.biz.
For now, it appears staff working on Fae Farm‘s recently-announced expansion, titled Coasts of Croakia, will not be impacted by this change. Work on the upcoming DLC will continue as planned, with its release set for 14 December.
Read: Fae Farm review – A colourful slice of magic and whimsy
“Our games teams were unaffected and our work continues across our titles at Phoenix Labs. Fae Farm‘s DLC and Dauntless updates are on track, and we have exciting unannounced projects in the works,” Phoenix Labs said. “We thank each of the affected team members who have helped to build Phoenix Labs into what it is today. Their impact will be missed and live on through everything the studio does moving forward.”
As noted by GamesIndustry.biz, Phoenix Labs initiated similar layoffs earlier in 2023, with around 9% of its workforce impacted as the company focussed on determining its “strongest path in terms of success and sustainability.” It’s been a tumultuous year overall for the studio, which lost three of its co-founders in 2023, following the reclamation of its independence earlier in the year.
It now joins a long list of companies that have initiated or planned layoffs in recent months, including Ubisoft, Media Molecule, Blizzard, Team17, EA, CD Projekt Red, Riot Games, Amazon, Ascendant Studios, Private Division, 2K, Volition, Firaxis, Telltale Games, Crystal Dynamics, Epic Games, Digital Extremes, Humble Games, and ByteDance.
Our thoughts are with those impacted by the changes at Phoenix Labs.
