Team17 Faces Workforce Reduction: A Glimpse into the Gaming Industry's Shifting Landscape

Highlights

Team17, a prominent indie game publisher, has announced layoffs, particularly in its QA team, as part of a restructuring amidst financial struggles.

Team17 is experiencing its second round of layoffs in 2023, with the previous reduction affecting its art and design departments. Several other gaming companies, such as Epic Games and CD Projekt, have also resorted to employee layoffs this year, hinting at possible economic difficulties within the gaming industry.

The renowned Indie publisher, Team17, has recently announced significant layoffs within its QA team. Known for creating the beloved Worms franchise and publishing popular titles such as Dredge, Blasphemous 2, and Overcooked, Team17 holds a prominent position within the gaming industry.

Interestingly, this is not the first instance of Team17 downsizing its workforce in 2023. Earlier in March, the company had to let go of employees, impacting their art and design teams. This shift marked a change in Team17's objectives, prioritizing game publishing over development. However, it appears that the company's financial situation has shown little improvement in recent months.

Now, Team17 has announced that it is currently undergoing a restructuring of its business. As part of this, the company's CEO, Michael Pattison, will be leaving the company along with the majority of its Quality Assurance (QA) team. According to the official announcement, the departure of the CEO was a mutual and amicable decision.

The most significant changes will be seen in the QA department, where several junior QA analyst positions will be eliminated. To cut costs, Team17 plans to outsource some of its QA work in the future. These changes are part of a consulting process that the company has already initiated, and they are expected to be finalized by November. At this time, the exact number of job losses has not been disclosed.

Recently, Epic Games experienced significant layoffs, with 870 employees, amounting to approximately 16% of its total workforce, being let go. The decision was made by CEO Tim Sweeney in order to address the company's financial instability, as they have been spending more money than earning in recent times.

Throughout 2023, various gaming companies, such as Unity, Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, Riot Games, Meta, and BioWare, have also implemented workforce reductions, often on a large scale. One notable example is CD Projekt, which reduced its employee count by 9% in June, dismissing about 100 individuals due to being "overstaffed," as explained by CEO Adam Kicinski. As the year comes to an end and economic experts predict a sluggish recovery for the global economy, it is reasonable to anticipate further layoffs in the gaming industry.

Source: Eurogamer