Skydance Games has lost a number of employees in recent days, making it the latest division to be slimmed down and restructured following the merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
“As part of our ongoing efforts to position Skydance Games for long-term growth and success, we are implementing a reorganization and operational changes in a few areas of our business. We have taken a step back and taken the time to consider where we are investing our efforts and have made the difficult decision to scale back some of our projects,” a Skydance spokesperson said.
“As a result, some roles are being impacted. This does not reflect the talent, dedication or creativity of those affected and we are grateful for their contributions. We are committed to approaching the process with transparency, care and respect for those leaving the company.”
It was not immediately clear how many roles were affected or which projects were being scaled back.
Paramount Games Studio was created last summer through the merger of the Skydance and Paramount games businesses and in turn became Skydance Games after the merger with WBD closed on October 6.
The combined group is led by Skydance Games and Experiences President Tony Driscoll, who has previously worked with Fortnite. Late last month, Skydance launched a company-wide voluntary buyout program as it transitioned to a five-day-a-week in-office policy. Co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz have promised Wall Street at least $6 billion in cost synergies from the merger, which will include layoffs.
The duo presented their first quarterly results since the deal was completed earlier today.
The video game industry has seen considerable consolidation in recent years. Last month, Microsoft offered voluntary buyouts to 25% of its workforce, including in the Xbox division.
“Most of my gaming team at Skydance Interactive were laid off today. I’m not affected by the layoff, but I’m definitely dealing with my emotions today. They are good people to work with and I would work with them again in a heartbeat. Please consider them for any vacancies you have at your game development company,” Rebecca Vessal, senior gameplay and game AI programmer at Skydance Games, wrote on LinkedIn.
“Skydance just lost a ton of great talent yesterday,” engineer David Vera said on the platform, recommending several dozen colleagues in art, design and engineering.
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