Summary
Playtonichas detailed its decision to trim down its workforce, following multiple reports of layoffs over the past week. Established in 2014,Playtonicis a British game studio which was founded by devs who also worked on titles such asDonkey Kong Countryand theBanjo-Kazooieseries.
Over the past decade, Playtonic has marked quite a few highlights in its history, from building an original IP to setting up its in-house publishing division. Unsurprisingly, the developer is mainly known for theYooka-Layleeplatform games, the first of which came out in 2017 after an instantly successful crowdfunding campaign. In 2021,Playtonic expanded its business with the launch of Playtonic Friendsand later also attracted Chinese gaming giant Tencent as a minority investor. Despite these signs of positive momentum over the years, the studio is now apparently enduring a challenging period, as confirmed by its latest official statement about job cuts.
In a newsocial media post, Playtonic announced that it had chosen to let go of “some” employees, more or less confirming therecent reports of layoffs at theYooka-Layleestudio. It was admittedly brought upon by the “knock-on effects” of an industry experiencing a turbulent time during which job losses have been widespread. The announcement mentioned that the “incredibly heartbreaking” decision was taken as a last resort after having “explored” other possibilities. Talking about the departing employees, Playtonic emphasized their contributions, saying that those leaving had “shaped” its studio, games, and culture. Underlining the dire situation of the gaming industry at present, it described the time as “a period of profound change” and said that the landscape was “shifting.” Backing the laid-off workers, the studio also revealed its intention to help them out with “next steps.”
Playtonic Confirms Recent Layoffs, Continuing an Uncertain Period in the Industry
Unfortunately, the downsizing at Playtonic isn’t a lone occurrence of its kind but the continuation of the layoff wave that has impacted the gaming industry over the past few years. The graveness of this issue is reflected by the fact that at least two different game studios announced layoffs in the month of May itself, with theother being EA’s Codemasters. Earlier in 2025, more major players in the industry, from Ubisoft to Eidos Montreal, had also undergone restructuring.
The recent layoffs may worry some people as theremaster ofYooka-Layleeis currently in development at Playtonic, with a 2025 release planned. While there is no information about how the downsizing affects the game’s progress in the announcement, fans will hope that the platformer can still roll out by the end of the year.
