Yooka-Laylee developer Playtonic Games has laid off an undisclosed number of employees, confirming reports of cuts shared by former employees on social media over the past week.
"We've all seen in recent years how the games industry has been changing, resulting in studio after studio finding themselves in situations where to continue to exist, they must make painful decisions—decisions that impact the lives of so many individual talented developers," Playtonic said in today's statement. "Like others, we've felt the knock-on effects and after exploring every possible avenue, we've had to make the incredibly heartbreaking decision to say goodbye to some truly brilliant of the Playtonic team.
"This isn't simply a difficult moment, it's a period of profound change in how games are created and financed. The landscape is shifting, and with it, so must we."
Playtonic didn't say how many people have been put out of work. However, brand manager Anni Valkama listed 14 employees impacted by the cuts, across production, art, and design teams, in a message posted to LinkedIn.
Playtonic was founded in 2014 by former Rare employees, and released Yooka-Laylee, a spiritual successor to Banjo Kazooie, in 2017. Cattle Country—developed by Castle Pixel—arrived earlier this week.
The layoffs at Playtonic continue a crisis in the game development industry that Unity, and others.
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