Game News “They are making record profits at the expense of workers” All employees of this video game publisher have just been laid off
The year 2024 for video games is getting even bleaker as Humble Games has decided to lay off all of its employees. The game publisher, which has been active since 2017, is talking about restructuring, but no team member has kept their jobs.
Humble Games thanks its employees
The crisis in the video game industry continues. After the record layoffs that affected the entire industry in the first half of the year, it is Humble Games’ turn to carry out a “restructuring”, according to the company’s official press release. A radical restructuring, since the entire team of the publisher has just been laid off. This leaves 36 people unemployed. Without even mentioning the slightest layoff, Humble Games assures that it has “deep sympathy” for all the employees affected. official press release
During these challenging economic times for independent game publishing, Humble Games has made the difficult but necessary decision to restructure its operations. This decision was not made lightly; it required much thought and careful consideration with the goal of ensuring stability and support for our developers and ongoing projects. Additionally, the restructuring of Humble Games’ operations will not impact Humble Bundle’s operations. We are acutely aware of the profound impact this decision has on our team members at Humble Games and have deep compassion for everyone affected. Our team’s contributions have been top-notch and invaluable, supporting the launch of our games since we began publishing in 2017. We are committed to managing this transition with as much empathy and understanding as possible. Supporting our development partners and supporting former team members remains our top priority. We are committed to making this transition as smooth as possible for everyone involved. Thank you for your support and compassion during this difficult time. We are deeply grateful.
Tangible anger
Steve Horowitz, chairman of the department “Technology & Shopping” of Ziff Davis explained during a meeting that these layoffs were the result of “rising costs and increased delays” and that the operation of Humble Games would now be carried out by a third-party company, the Powell Group aftermath.
This is a tough pill to swallow for members of the Humble Games team who have overseen the release of major indie titles such as signaled or unpacking. At LinkedInSenior/Lead Quality Assurance Analyst Emilee Kieffer points out: “Billionaires and CEOs who make record profits at the expense of the employees who actually make the products“. Chris Radley, a former employee who left the company in 2022, talks about “another management failure and a talented and hard-working team paying the price for these bad decisions“.
