Jumplight Odyssey developer League of Geeks announces layoffs
League of Geeks, the developer of Armello, has confirmed a large wave of job cuts at the company, suspending development of its next title Jumplight Odyssey "indefinitely."
The details:
In a blog update posted to Jumplight Odyssey's Steam page, studio director Trent Kusters stated that development of the early access title has been paused "indefinitely" due to the company being "unable to sustain the cost of operations" until the game's full release in Q2 2024.
The studio cites "rapidly rising operation costs, a worsening AUD/USD exchange rate, poor Early Access sales, and the unprecedented withdrawal of funding opportunities across the industry" as reasons for laying off 50% of its development, operations, and publishing teams. Kusters also confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that those affected will receive "full benefits" and 50% of Jumplight Odyssey's profits over the next 12 months.
According to Kusters, the developer was in discussions with two major investors to secure funding that would keep it afloat until 2028, but the current economic situation affecting the gaming industry as a whole caused the deals to fall through.
The developer intends to release one more update for Jumplight Odyssey with features planned for the full release before pausing development, and it also stated that the layoffs will not affect the February 14 release of Solium Infernum or ongoing support for Armello players.
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