Digital Bros, the parent company that owns publisher 505 Games, announced plans (PDF) to reduce its workforce by 30%. These cuts will be made across a variety of owned studios under its belt. Those with a vested interest in the company should be thrilled to hear that Digital Bros expects "no significant impact" on their financials for 2023-2024 as a result of these layoffs.
I'm sure those getting laid off will be thrilled to hear that news.
Digital Bros says that they need to "adapt to this new and evolving competitive scenario [of players being] more selective in terms of new games." They continue to say that "consumers [are] increasing reverting to well established intellectual properties and playing these games for longer periods."
This seems to suggest that many of 505's releases over the past year maybe didn't do as well as executives had wanted. Some of those releases include the newly released Ghostrunner 2 in October, Miasma Chronicles in May, and the spring release of Crime Boss: Rockay City. Digital Bros looks to shift their focus more on releasing sequels and newer versions of established properties. New titles with larger budgets will still be released, but at a greatly reduced rate.
Digital Bros did not provide details on which specific studios would be impacted by these layoffs. They also did not provide any information on which departments within any of their studios may be impacted by these layoffs.
At present, a few of the titles that 505 Games is set to publish include Control 2, a still unnamed multiplayer spin-off for Control 2, and Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes.
