Game development studio League of Geeks has let go of over 50% of its workforce. The company took to social media platforms to share the news which also includes an indefinite pause on the development of its early-access space strategy sim game Jumplight Odyssey.
Previousy the game had found success with subscription based digital strategy board game Armello.
League of Geeks co-founders and directors, Trent Kusters, Blake Mizzi, and Ty Carey shared a statement that outlined the numerous reasons that led to the redundancies including, “Rapidly rising operation costs, a weakening Australian dollar, poor early access sales, and the unprecedented withdrawal of funding opportunities across the industry.”
They added that these issues have placed the company, “In a position where we could no longer afford to cover development costs,” which forced them to make the difficult decision of pausing the development of Jumplight Odyssey and letting go of more than half of its staff.
Giving back
In an update posted on the Jumplight Odyssey Steam page, Kusters said the process of, “Saying goodbye to many of our closest friends” was “traumatic.” Further clarifying that the team doesn’t want this to be the end of the road for the game.
“If investment in the project becomes a reality, and the conditions exist where it is financially possible for us to boot this game back up, we absolutely will. The grim reality however, is that at least for right now, it’s a very scary time (economically) for indie developers of our size,” said Kusters.
The update also revealed the company’s efforts to, “Give back to our fantastic team who worked so hard on it. For the next 12 months, “Or until development is resumed,” half of the profit from every copy of Jumplight Odyssey sold, “Will be distributed to our team (including those whose employment was impacted).”
As for the studio’s other ongoing project Solium Infernum, the game is unaffected by the layoffs and remains scheduled to launch on February 14, 2024. Likewise the company’s fairytale board game Armello.
