NFT game dev Midnight Society makes ‘significant’ layoffs after ‘unexpected’ challenges
Image via Midnight Society.
Midnight Society, the studio behind the NFT shooter Deadrop, laid off an unspecified number of staff last week.
Word of the layoffs appeared on social media over the weekend, with senior environment artist Tyler Moore saying he was “one of many” affected. The studio later confirmed the “significant workforce reduction” to PCGamer.
In its statement, Midnight Society attributed the layoffs to “multiple unexpected challenges” in recent months. It further stated the cuts were made to “strengthen our foundation and renew focus on our core mission.”
The life and times of Midnight SocietyMidnight Society was founded in 2021 by studio head Robert Bowling, creative director Quinn DelHoyo, and streamer Guy “Dr. Disrespect” Beahm. As PCGamer pointed out, much of Deadrop was built around Beahm’s online persona and his affection for the extraction shooter genre.
This past summer, Beahm was ousted from Midnight Society after company leadership learned he had allegedly messaged a minor via the discontinued Twitch Whispers feature in 2017. After initially denying the allegations, he admitted to the act, which led to his ban from Twitch in 2020.
In a recent interview with Esports.gg, Bowling confirmed Beahm remains uninvolved with Midnight Society. As for the recent layoffs, he said on the studio’s Discord that it still aimed to release Deadrop in 2025.
“We’ll be sharing our revised plans and milestones in the near future” reads Bowling’s Discord post, “and we thank you for your continued faith in our vision.”
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Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com
A Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don’t ask him about how much gum he’s had, because the answer will be more than he’s willing to admit.
