It has been revealed that UK-based developer, Bossa Studios, has unfortunately made redundant around one-third of its staff, releasing some 19 employees amid a ‘perfect storm’ of circumstances.
It was confirmed that around 40 employees remain on the books, with the company’s co-founder, Henrique Olifiers, offering up an explanation that leant on the slew of top-tier titles that launched through the end of 2023, ‘taking focus away’ from indie games.
2023 Still Lingers
Last year was one of the most trying 12-month periods in gaming history, with some 10,000 developers being laid off across the industry. It was a trend that hit some of the biggest companies in the business, and it led to the closure of some studios that had been creating and innovating for decades.
In a report published by GamesIndustry.biz, it was revealed that Bossa Studios is the first company to be hit with layoffs in 2024, as a third of the development team is made redundant just days into the new year. In a statement handed to GamesIndusty.biz by Henrique Olifiers, it was explained:
Resulting from this blue moon situation, we had to make the difficult decision to reshape the studio to reflect the position we find ourselves in at the end of this year, focusing all our efforts now on Lost Skies. This means we find ourselves in the heartbreaking position of having to let roughly one third of the studio go – amongst them, some of our closest colleagues.
While we are doing our utmost to support them, we would appreciate any help our industry peers can give in spreading the word about these great people – or even better, hiring them as part of your team. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better game development professional than one of these Bossians, whom we’ll vouch for without hesitation. We often say that making games is hard, but nothing is harder than seeing people you admire being let go. Ultimately, we tried our very best to avoid being in this position, and we’re truly sorry for where we have landed.
Reportedly, Olifiers stressed that the layoffs were caused by ‘a perfect storm of events’ that included increasing operation costs and ‘delayed funding decisions’.
Recently, Bossa Studios enjoyed screentime at The Game Awards, with the award-winning trailer for the studios’ new game, Lost Skies, debuting before an audience of millions. As Olifiers highlighted, all the eyes of the studio are now locked firmly on delivering this game.
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