LogInProject Gemini is left with fewer creators due to budget limitations.
Image credit: People Can Fly | OUTRIDERS
People Can Fly, the developer of Outriders and Bulletstorm, has reportedly been stricken with layoffs. According to Kotaku, over 30 developers were laid off on January 24 "due to budget limitations and shrinking scope." All of them were working on a game codenamed Project Gemini, which is going to be published by Square Enix.
The studio's development director Adam Alker said that in addition to these 30, around 20 employees were also cut from Gemini but will continue working on other projects there.
“We understand that this decision impacts each of you, and we want to express our gratitude for your hard work, dedication, and contributions thus far,” said Alker. “To those individuals transitioning out of the studio due to these changes, we extend our sincere appreciation for the skills and expertise you brought to the team. We will keep our fingers crossed for your next steps in game dev and offer all our support.”
The laid-off workers in Poland have three months to work, while those outside of Poland will be let go by the end of the week.
Project Gemini was scheduled for 2026, and it's not clear if the decision will push the deadline. Kotaku's source said the game's campaign was going to be shorter and its enemy roster smaller because of the reduced budget.
Other than People Can Fly, Kotaku listed several other companies that have reduced their teams in 2024:
- Unity Software - 1,800 people
- Riot Games - 530 people
- Twitch - 500 people
- Discord - 170 people
- Lost Boys Interactive - 125 people
- Thunderful - 20% of staff (Around 100 people)
- Behaviour Interactive - 45 people
- CI Games - 10% of staff (Likely 15-20)
- Archiact - Unknown
- Bossa Studios - 19 people
- Playtika - 300-400 people
- Funselektor - 3 people
- PTW (formerly Pole To Win) - 45 people
- Pixelberry Studios - Unknown
- Netspeak Games - 25 people
- Wimo Games - 35 people
- 31st Union - less than 10
- Com2uS - ‘a two-digit number of people’
- Metaverse World (Netmarble F&C) - 70 people
- Ntreev Soft (NCSoft) - 70 people
- One Player Mission - 15 people
- Black Forest Games - Around 50 people
Altogether, it's at least 3,972 people, and the list keeps growing. Find the details here and join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.