2023 and 2024 have not been pretty for the games industry. As there have been thousands upon thousands of people who have lost their jobs across multiple studios and publishers. From Sony, to Microsoft, and even Sega and Square Enix. It feels more and more like the industry’s workforce is shrinking at an alarming and heartbreaking rate. As even some studios have faced closures. Such an Tanga Gameworks, and Roll7, studios that have made very beloved games that many have enjoyed over the years. But it still has not ended, as Pheonix Labs, the developer and publisher for Dauntless and Fae Farm are also laying off a hundred developers.
Details on the Layoffs at Pheonix Labs
Nicole Carpenter, Senior Reporter at Polygon was first to report on this news. With Pheonix Labs confirming it on Linkedin:
Their marque title Dauntless has always been criticized on PC for not having a native version on Steam to play from. The game mostly relies on a seasonal business model and holiday themed events with little bits of content sprinkled in. But it seems as though, even with a new experimental title, Fae Farm, which has reportedly only sold twenty thousand copies. The main problem they are running into is finding a player base to sustain their studio. As it is unknown how many people are playing Dauntless across the Nintendo Switch, Xbox consoles, PlayStation consoles and the Epic Games Store.
One can only hope that they land on their feet for the community that has supported them over the years. As well as grow with a healthy new player base in the years to come.
