The ongoing pandemic of mass layoffs at game development companies has tainted independent Polish studio Reikon Games, known for 2017’s cyberpunk shooter Ruiner. The company has today cut more than 50 percent of its workforce.
In a recent compilation of 2024 layoffs in gaming, Reikon Games has cut somewhere between 60 and 70 employees from their studio according to an update from Kotaku on Jan. 26. The company was best known for developing the top-down action shooter Ruiner, a title that has seen success on PC with almost 10,000 reviews of which 90 percent are positive. Reikon has been teasing their upcoming title Final Form for about two years, but the status of that game amid these recent developments is unknown.
Many former employees of Reikon Games have posted on social media sharing that they have been let go from the company and are searching for new ventures. Developers of all backgrounds appear in posts, with those also working in 3D art affected by the company restructure.
Reikon partnered with Plaion in 2021 to publish Final Form, with Plaion being a subsidiary of Embracer Group. Embracer has been one of the worst offenders in terms of layoffs in 2023, and it’s unclear if there is a connection between their recent practices and the layoffs at Reikon. The Polish studio’s downsizing comes just days after Microsoft let go of nearly 2,000 employees, and less than two weeks after Unity did the same.
This year’s layoffs are already counting in the high thousands, with the total toll nearing two-thirds of last year’s—and it’s only been a month. From Riot to Twitch to Discord, thousands are already losing their positions in game development studios as the gaming and wider tech industry undergo a heavy reset. If January is any indication, we’re in for a wild ride in 2024.
