F1 Manager developer Frontier Developments announces layoffs

Frontier, the developer behind F1 Manager, Planet Zoo, and Elite Dangerous, has announced that it will conduct an "organizational review," which will result in the layoffs of a number of employees.

The details:

• In a trading update this morning (via GamesIndustry.biz), the UK-based developer informed investors of the layoffs, stating that it plans to "refocus on its core strengths following a period of disappointing financial performance and more challenging industry conditions."
• The company will go through an "organizational review" in order to reduce annual operating costs by up to 20% through spending cuts, a hiring freeze, and redundancies. The consultation is scheduled to end in early 2024, and it is unknown how many employees will be directly affected by the situation.
• Frontier's stock price has dropped by more than 80% since the beginning of the year, with the biggest drop of over 40% in January following a trading update that revealed it was unlikely to meet sales and profit targets due to the commercial underperformance of F1 Manager 2022 and other titles. Unfortunately for the company, the game's sequel, F1 Manager 2023, underperformed as well, leaving the studio in a difficult position.
• It has claimed that its current portfolio "continues to perform in line with expectations," with Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin set for release in November.

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