Phoenix Labs Lays Off Over 100 Employees and Cancels Upcoming Games

by
William D’Angelo
, posted 2 days ago / 1,495 Views

Phoenix Labs via a LinkedIn post announced the studio will be doing a restructure that will lead to employees being laid off.

The company will be focusing on serving the communities of two live service games, Dauntless and Fae Farm. This does mean the studio has cancelled work on all other upcoming projects.

Polygon reporter Nicole Carpenter talked with two sources that stated over 100 employees have been laid off at Phoenix Labs.

“Major layoffs at Fae Farm, Dauntless dev Phoenix Labs today,” said Carpenter. “Two sources said over 100 people have been impacted. On LinkedIn, a former worker said all in development games have been cancelled, including one about to be announced. Devastating news — so sorry to those impacted.”

Major layoffs at Fae Farm, Dauntless dev Phoenix Labs today. Two sources said over 100 people have been impacted. On LinkedIn, a former worker said all in development games have been cancelled, including one about to be announced. Devastating news — so sorry to those impacted. pic.twitter.com/H4LLH6jY3C

— Nicole Carpenter (@sweetpotatoes) May 16, 2024

“Today is an incredibly difficult day. After a long period of evaluating how to navigate our economic environment, we have had to significantly restructure the company to pave a path for a strong future,” reads the LinkedIn post from Phoenix labs.

“We are reorganizing Phoenix Labs to focus on our best-in-class live service titles, Dauntless and Fae Farm, and serving their communities.

“This unfortunately means canceling work on all other projects at the studio, which will impact many of our colleagues immediately. We are giving notices to everyone whose roles are affected.

“This restructure has not come easily, and truly has been the last resort to ensure Phoenix Labs can survive, and thrive in the long term. It’s impossible to put into words how deeply we value every talented individual who has contributed their hard work and passion to every project at our studio.

“We are doing all we can to help our departing team members in this interim period and encourage any studios looking for incredible talent to speak with the one-of-a-kind people that have been a part of Phoenix Labs’ journey.”

A life-long and avid gamer, William D’Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.