Team17 management has confirmed the company is in the midst of a major restructure, with “a period of consultation” including layoffs set to take place in the coming weeks. The news was first reported by Eurogamer, in a story alleging that “significant job losses” were to be expected from the studio, with the vast majority of change hitting its internal Quality Assurance (QA) team.
Eurogamer also broke news that company CEO Michael Pattinson was expected to depart – which Team17 has now confirmed, to VG247.
“In response to the reports concerning the departure of Michael Pattison from Team17, we can confirm we have amicably parted ways with Michael,” a spokesperson said. “We can also confirm that we have sadly entered into a period of consultation today within Team17 Digital, with Astragon and Storytoys remaining unaffected by the restructuring plans.”
For now, the full extend of the planned restructure is unclear, although Eurogamer reports around 50 roles may be in the firing line, as Team17 is allegedly planning to cut its Digital team and outsource QA work.
Read: Team17 employees speak out on NFTs, working conditions
As noted by Eurogamer, this is the second round of job losses at Team17 in 2023, as a company restructure was initially kicked off in March 2023. At the time, staff at the company were allegedly told that no further layoffs would occur – although, it does appear the situation has now changed.
Staff at Team17 were reportedly informed of incoming layoffs on Monday, with the process of implementation expected to conclude by November 2023.
The news out of Team17 arrives at a tumultuous time in the games industry, which is currently facing an array of layoffs and similar restructures worldwide. In recent weeks, companies including Ascendant Studios, Epic Games, and Creative Assembly have all announced major layoffs, designed to contend with economic downturn, rising costs, and audiences with understandably tighter wallets.
Our thoughts are with those impacted by the layoffs at Team17, and at other companies in the global games industry.
