Do not Nod’s ongoing struggles proceed, with the corporate asserting it is getting ready to implement a reorganization that would end in layoffs of as much as 69 workers.
The announcement comes with the corporate’s monetary outcomes for the primary half of the yr at present, which confirmed an 11% year-over-year decline in working income. Per the corporate, the decline is the results of Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden and Jusant not performing in addition to anticipated.
“Our half-year outcomes for 2024 mirror the financial underperformance of our newest launch, regardless of stable scores on Metacritic, in addition to the accounting impression of the selections we needed to take,” stated CEO Oskar Guilbert in a press release. “The preliminary efficiency help measures introduced final spring not appear ample to take care of the corporate’s competitiveness. Consequently, at present we offered a reorganization challenge to the worker consultant our bodies, which might set Do not Nod on a brand new improvement trajectory. I’m totally acutely aware of the impression this challenge might have on all our workers. Securing our firm’s assets and restoring its capability to carry out extra in an more and more aggressive and selective business is extraordinarily mandatory.”
The corporate has already taken some restructuring measures to cut back prices, together with “urgent pause” on two unannounced tasks. Nonetheless, this appears to not be sufficient, as Do not Nod can also be anticipating to put off quite a lot of people within the coming months. The precise quantity remains to be in flux, as Do not Nod administration should negotiate with worker union representatives and should implement different measures corresponding to a voluntary redundancy plan. Notably, earlier this yr, the consultant French union Le Syndicat des Travailleurs et Travailleuses du Jeu Vidéo (STJV) accused the corporate of mismanagement, claiming workers had been going through burnout as a result of ongoing reorganization and that communication, understaffing, and shifting deadlines had been endangering the workforce.
Replace 2:22pm PT: STJV has issued a press release condeming the layoffs, saying the corporate broke the legislation by not offering any info to workers beforehand about at present’s assembly agenda the place the layoffs had been introduced. The union additionally accused the corporate of ignoring employees asking for clearer communication in regards to the state of the corporate, saying that “alarm bells have been ringing for months.”
“The Don’t Nod union part, as nicely the entire of the STJV, can not tolerate the corporate rejecting the duties of its personal failures on its employees,” the assertion reads. “We warned them way back, however they ignored us and accused us of being too agressive to talk with. With this layoffs plan, they’re creating an environment of utmost violece. We’re calling on all employees at Don’t Nod to mobilise to avoid wasting their jobs and dealing situations.”
Authentic story continues:
In response to a video games business layoff tracker, over 13,000 recreation builders have been laid off simply this yr (together with 32 simply yesterday at Riot Video games). Over 10,000 builders had been laid off in 2023 and over 8,000 in 2022. We have beforehand reported on how the continuing business mass layoffs have impacted these affected by them.
Do not Nod has stated that Misplaced Information: Bloom & Rage remains to be on monitor for its February 18, 2025 launch, and that two different tasks in improvement are anticipated to launch earlier than the top of 2027.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Received a narrative tip? Ship it to rvalentine@ign.com.
