Dauntless dev lays off over 100 people as it cancels in-development projects

By Carli Velocci Published May 16, 2024

A monster stalking two characters in the dark in Dauntless, — Phoenix Labs

Phoenix Labs is seeing its third round of layoffs in just over a year. According to reports, over 100 people were affected this time around and projects have been canceled.

The company confirmed the layoffs in a post on LinkedIn, citing a restructuring that would allow it to focus solely on its flagship titles: the free-to-play Dauntless and cozy life-sim Fae Farm. While it did not confirm the exact number of layoffs, Polygon reports that there were over 100 people affected.

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“We are reorganizing Phoenix Labs to focus on our best-in-class live service titles, Dauntless and Fae Farm, and serving their communities,” the statement reads. “This unfortunately means canceling work on all other projects at the studio, which will impact many of our colleagues immediately.”

Some workers took to LinkedIn to discuss the layoffs, with some claiming that they were working on unannounced projects that were shut down. One gameplay programmer said that they were working on a game that was expected to get announced in three weeks (likely during one of the summer game showcases).

Phoenix Labs experienced two rounds of layoffs in 2023. In May, the company announced that it laid off around 9% of its workforce to focus on “fewer development projects” like Fae Farm and Dauntless. This came just one month after it bought its independence from Garena, a developer and publisher based in Singapore that acquired it in 2020. In December, Phoenix Labs confirmed an additional 34 layoffs across its “HR, IT, and shared services teams.” Additionally, the CEO and COO stepped down in September for personal reasons.

Multiple sources, both on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn, claim Phoenix Labs was bought by Forte, a platform that allows developers to integrate blockchain technology into their games, although this move was never officially confirmed.

Contributor, Games

Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…

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