Thunderful Games, the studio that both develops and publishes the SteamWorld franchise, announced that between 80 and 100 employees are losing their jobs. The reason, and we've all heard this one before, is due to the company undergoing a "restructuring program." This also means that several unspecified game projects have also been cancelled.
Thunderful Games announced the sad news via a press release sent out on November 14. As part of the announcement, Thunderful says this restructuring will improve their cash flow by about 80-90 million SEK per year, or about $7.3M USD to $8.2M USD.
This is the second restructuring for the studio in less than a year. Various "cost-saving measures" were introduced earlier this year. The studio says that there were "significant reductions in cost levels" achieved as a result of those earlier changes it wasn't enough. They say that revenue targets were not met and that the company was still struggling with negative cash flow.
Thunderful is also shifting away from internally developed projects and will instead put a greater focus on publishing third-party titles.
Shifting focus to external publishing will reduce the Group´s fixed costs and allow for greater flexibility, enabling faster, diverse game releases by leveraging external talent and resources in a balanced manner, while still retaining some internal development capacity. The restructuring program will be implemented immediately.
"It is regrettable to announce a second restructuring of Thunderful in less than a year, but we unfortunately see no other alternatives in order to ensure the Group’s long-term sustainability and resilience. The strategic move towards publishing games from external partners allows us to reduce fixed costs, increase flexibility, and better control our cash flow," says Martin Walfisz, CEO of Thunderful Group. "We have many talented and dedicated employees, and it is with great regret that we are forced to part ways."
"It is regrettable to announce a second restructuring of Thunderful in less than a year, but we unfortunately see no other alternatives in order to ensure the Group’s long-term sustainability and resilience. The strategic move towards publishing games from external partners allows us to reduce fixed costs, increase flexibility, and better control our cash flow," says Martin Walfisz, CEO of Thunderful Group. "We have many talented and dedicated employees, and it is with great regret that we are forced to part ways."
