The Outsiders (AKA Funcom Stockholm) – responsible for Metal Hellsingers and Metal Hellsingers VR – has been impacted by layoffs. As a result, the studio will be closing. The studio consisted of roughly 60 staff according to the official Funcom website.
Through a social media statement posted by The Outsiders founder David Goldfarb, the closure was announced. It reads: “I have not had much time to process the news but all of us at The Outsiders and Funcom Stockholm have been affected by the layoffs at Funcom and our 10 year old studio will be closing.
“Many of us had survived a near-death studio experience years back when Darkborn was cancelled and because of the team’s loyalty and refusal to quit, Metal: Hellslinger was born. It will always be a high point for me personally and I will be forever grateful we got to make it and for the wonderful team and partnerships that made it happen.”
Goldfarb stated the studio hoped to create something even better, and that the impacted developers want to try to “continue on in some new form”. He then requested help, be it through business leads, placement for affected employees, and more.
This comes shortly after Funcom announced layoffs last week, as the studio declared its intention to focus on Dune: Awakening’s ongoing live service support. The full scope of how many employees have been laid off across the full repertoire of Funcom offices remains unclear.