People Can Fly has announced that it is the next studio to hold layoffs as 2024 winds down. In a post on social media, CEO Sebastian Wojciechowski said that the company is making changes throughout the studio that will impact over 120 employees.
“Today, we made a very difficult decision to reduce our self-publishing strategy by suspending Project Victoria, scaling down our team on Project Bifrost, and restructuring some of our supporting teams at People Can Fly,” Wojciechowski said.
He said that the moves come due to “external market pressures” that were beyond what they had expected. Moving forward, they are focusing on the development of a single game as opposed to multiple projects, and are “redoubling our efforts with new work-for-hire engagements”.
The layoffs at People Can Fly puts the games industry at nearly 15,000 known jobs lost in 2024. When taking into account unconfirmed numbers, the real total is over 16,000 jobs.
“We recognize this is a profoundly challenging time for our team members, as we say goodbye to valued colleagues who have contributed so much,” Wojciechowski said.
“Our priority is to approach this moment with compassion and to ensure our team feels supported as we work together to build a stronger future.”
You can read Wojciechowski’s full statement below. Let us know what you think of the state of the games industry and the latest layoffs down below or in the Insider Gaming forums.
“We are deeply saddened by the fact that this situation means suspending or parting ways with more than 120 talented Aviators, colleagues who we enjoyed having as part of our team.
This action became necessary as external market pressures persisted beyond our forecasts. The video game market is still evolving, and we have to adjust with where things are today. We are redoubling our efforts with new work-for-hire engagements and focusing on the development of a single independent game.
We believe in our teams, games, and their potential, and we remain extremely committed to continuing that journey, but we need to tailor our plans to our financial capacity.
We are deeply grateful for the contributions of every team member impacted by this turn of events; their talent and dedication have helped shape our company and our games. These changes are deeply felt by all of us.
We recognize this is a profoundly challenging time for our team members, as we say goodbye to valued colleagues who have contributed so much. We are focused on supporting those impacted during this transition, providing them with resources and assistance to navigate this change, and are equally committed to caring for those staying, who are managing the challenges of losing coworkers and friends.
Our priority is to approach this moment with compassion and to ensure our team feels supported as we work together to build a stronger future.
In this hard moment, our dedication to excellence and creativity remains as strong as ever. For everyone who loves what we create — we will not give up on our dreams.”
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