Ruiner developer Reikon Games reportedly lays off more than half its staff | GamesIndustry.biz

cross-posted from: lemmy.sdf.org/post/11258346

Polish developer Reikon Games has reportedly dismissed a significant portion of its workforce.

Sources told GamesIndustry.biz that around 70 people have been laid off, while former producer Rafał Basaj claimed it was around 60 people via a Threads post.

Others told Kotaku that an estimated 56% of the company’s employees have been affected.

The layoffs were announced to staff on January 23, 2024, with multiple former employees since posting on LinkedIn and social media platforms that they are looking for work.

GamesIndustry.biz reached out to Reikon Games for confirmation and comment, but has not received a response at the time of writing.

Reikon is best known for 2017 cyberpunk shooter Ruiner, which was published by Devolver Digital.

Mango,

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/9b869e3c-973a-400f-aa27-dd4b0c6d8cb5.webm

simple,

It’s mindblowing that the studio had 100+ people and their only game was apparently RUINER. I was convinced it was a smaller indie game, how could they have that many employees and only release one decently successful game in like 6+ years?

Pohl,

I think that is a microcosm of the whole business right now. Very low interest rates meant that VC were taking bets like this all the time. Which allowed devs to finance expansion well beyond what their revenues would allow. The free money tap turned off and now everybody has to adjust back down. Low interest rates are an engine for growth. Raising rates is meant to crush investment and employment.

Macro economics is bullshit and not empirical at all but, the monetary policy levers do what they are supposed to do.

mindbleach,

VCs chucking millions around, expecting billions, is an engine for growth. Capital is the bottleneck and capital is why these bestselling games now belong to empty studios.

inlandempire, (edited )
@inlandempire@jlai.lu avatar

We will go from one of the best year in gaming in terms of releases, to 2024, where I wonder how many games will actually come out given the amount of workers being abandoned

Edit : from publish.obsidian.md/vg-layoffs we’re only 26 days into this new year and the number of people laid off is already HALF OF THE TOTAL OF LAST YEAR this is insane

Pohl,

I haven’t chased down sources but I saw a claim that the industry added net 20k jobs in 2023. This might really be more realignment than bloodbath. Anyone who was debt financing payroll has to make changes asap, but the industry still generates tons of revenue and grows YoY.

inlandempire,
@inlandempire@jlai.lu avatar

That’s interesting, then to me it means that whoever was in charge and made the decision to hire that many people without questioning the long term financial sustainability of such decision must be to blame

Pohl,

That is a valid take. You could also say that all the VC was transferred into payroll for ordinary folks without any return to the SV billionaire club.

Totally different industry, but my company took a huge swing a few years back that blew up in their faces. It’s been rough since then but I put a LOT of money in my pocket during that period and I’m certainly better off than if they had prudently managed on austerity budgets the whole time.

Poutinetown,

Fire and rehire at lower rate?

TSG_Asmodeus,
@TSG_Asmodeus@lemmy.world avatar

You got it. Lay off the Seniors, get the kids straight out of college.

Poutinetown,

Don’t even need to! Fire the seniors and hire seniors at junior rates.

Slotos,

Software engineers are gonna learn the word “union” at some point. The job that’s the hardest to disown workers of the means of production could use some solidarity movement.

Problem is, the movement needs to be global. Which I don’t expect to happen.

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