Deck Nine Games, the studio behind Life is Strange: Double Exposure and last year’s The Expanse: A Telltale Series, has confirmed further layoffs.
In a statement, CEO Mark Lyons said it had been “an extremely difficult decision” but “reflect[ed] the challenging times many companies in our industry are currently facing”.
Lyons’ words stopped short of confirming how many staff had been impacted by the most recent round of cuts, or how it will affect its development pipeline.
“Today we are sad to share the news that we must say goodbye to some of our talented team members,” the statement began.
“This was an extremely difficult decision and reflects the challenging times many companies in our industry are currently facing. We are extremely grateful to every individual who has dedicated their hard work, passion, and commitment to making transformative entertainment with us.
“To those of you leaving the studio due to these changes, thank you for sharing your talents with us. We are proud of what we were able to accomplish together and we are committed to supporting you in this transition in any way we can.”
The statement closed on asking players and fans for their “support and understanding” at this time.
These are the second round of layoffs this year alone. Deck Nine also laid off around 20 percent of its workforce back in February. A couple of months later, an investigation into Deck Nine showed that although its games celebrated diversity and inclusivity, its own culture allegedly fostered toxicity, hate speech, harassment, crunch, bullying, and abusive leadership as a result of inaction from senior management.