Thunderful Group announces layoffs

Thunderful, a Swedish holding firm that owns several development studios and publishers, has confirmed that it will lay off 20% of its workforce.

The details:

• Thunderful announced its restructuring in a new press release, saying it wants to "strengthen the group's long-term competitive position." To significantly reduce costs, the program includes the layoff of approximately 100 employees as well as potential divestments.

• The holding group says it plans to cut costs by between SEK 90 million ($8.6 million) and SEK 110 million ($10.5 million), to see the full effects as early as the second half of 2024. It will also refocus its efforts on its most profitable areas, as despite a strong Q4 2023 performance, its total revenue for the year fell 3.5% to $293 million compared to 2022.

• Thunderful consists of 30 companies across its distribution and gaming branches, with seven developers and three publishers, including Somerville developer Jumpship and publisher Rising Star Games. It’s currently unknown which companies will be directly affected by the layoffs.

Other recent gaming layoffs:

• Discord has laid off 17% of its workforce after admitting to having increased its headcount too quickly in recent years.

• Unity began 2024 by confirming plans to lay off 25% of its current workforce in a company-wide restructuring by March.