Update: Humble Games confirms layoffs amid ‘restructuring’, denies full shutdown
Update (7/23/24): In a statement provided to Game Developer, Humble said its game publishing label is “undergoing restructuring” rather than fully shutting down. This restructure “involved much deliberation and careful thought, with the goal of ensuring the stability and support of our developers and ongoing projects.”
“We are acutely aware of the profound impact this decision has on our team members at Humble Games and deeply empathize with everyone affected. Our team’s contributions have been world-class and invaluable, supporting the launch of our games since we started publishing in 2017.”
Ongoing and future projects are said to be unaffected, and the restructure has “no impact” on Humble Bundle’s operations. It affirmed that it was “committed to making this transition as smooth as possible for everyone involved.”
Original story: The IGN-owned Humble Games was reportedly closed down this morning, and its 36-person staff was laid off entirely.
The publishing offshoot of the popular platform was cut, and seemingly without any prior warning. At time of writing, Humble itself has yet to comment on the matter.
Humble Games began in 2017 with titles like A Hat in Time and Aegis Defenders under its belt. Over the years, it’s gone to publish critical and commercial darlings like Slay the Spire, Unpacking, and Signalis.
Just last week, it’d published BÅ: Path of the Teal Lotus from developer Squid Shock Studios.
“Like most of Humble Games today, I was notified that we were being laid off this morning,” wrote producer Kenny Schwarz. “As much of a bummer as it is to be in this position, I still appreciate that it’s been an amazing experience to work with so many wonderful and talented people!”
“Today is mine and my entire team’s last day at Humble Games,” added senior QA Emilee Kiefer. While mourning its end, she criticized the “volatile” industry and “people who only want exponential growth at the expense of making great games with great teams.”
“Billionaires and CEOs are making record profits at the expense of the employees who actually create the products,” she continued. “I believe we have the power to create studios that benefit us as game developers and not people that only see us as money printing machines.”
Last November, Humble laid off an unspecified number of staff from its publishing arm as part of a company restructure. Two years earlier, it had cut jobs in its engineering and customer service departments.
At time of writing, it’s unclear what will remain of games that Humble Games was set to publish, such as Monaco II and Breeze in the Clouds.
About the Author(s)
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.
