VRChat is Cutting Nearly One-Third of Its Employees

VRChat, a free-to-play social VR platform where users can create worlds and customize avatars, has just announced that it will be letting go of 30% of its employees. 

The company has stated that this decision, despite being "one of the toughest decisions in our company's history," was made as a "proactive step towards securing the future success of our business, community, and mission."

In an email, CEO Graham Gaylor detailed the company's growth over the past few years. The company had been growing in tandem with the VR market, which unfortunately slowed down in 2022, resulting in a slowdown in VRChat's growth as well. The company decided to build a product organization to maintain its growth while waiting for the core market to mature. Despite Gaylor's optimism about future success, he noted that they "need to be fast-moving, nimble, and make smart (and sometimes difficult) decisions."

Regarding the specific reasons behind this decision, he mentioned an analysis conducted in March that identified several key findings for VRChat's future growth: the need for a management layer to align individual contributors towards common goals, the realization of over-hiring, the necessity for an extended runway and improved metrics to execute a five-year strategy, and the need for varied roles and expertise for the next phase of the company's journey. These insights are driving changes to ensure VRChat's long-term success.

The company promises to provide support for those affected, saying that:

In addition to this, those affected are also provided with VRChat Specific Support which includes Lifetime VRChat Plus, a VRChat Alumni Badge, and a higher Creator Economy Rev Share.

You can read the full email from VRChat's CEO from here and don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Reddit, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.