Warframe studio Digital Extremes announces layoffs after the closure its publishing division
Digital Extremes, the developer of the free-to-play shooter Warframe, has confirmed that layoffs have occurred as a result of the closure of its publishing arm.
The details:
As reported by PC Gamer, Digital Extremes has closed its publishing division, resulting in an unknown number of job cuts, and its recently released title, Wayfinder, has been handed over to its developer, Airship Syndicate. "We can confirm we have made the difficult decision to cease operations of our external projects division," a Digital Extremes spokesperson said. "We have had to say goodbye to a number of hardworking and highly valuable team members as a result and we're working with Airship to transition full control of Wayfinder to them in the coming months."
Despite having been involved in game development for over three decades, Digital Extremes was a relatively new publisher, having released Human Head's Survive By in 2018. It announced a partnership with Airship Interactive late last year to publish Wayfinder, which went into early access in August. As a developer, it is still supporting Warframe while also working on its new project Soulframe, which was revealed in July 2022.
The closure comes just a few months after its founder, James Schmalz, stepped down as CEO last month, and was replaced by chief creative officer, Steve Sinclair, though Schmalz remains on the board of directors. According to Polygon, many of those affected were new employees who had only been with the studio for three months.
Other recent layoffs:
100 Thieves has announced another round of layoffs, as well as the separation of its Juvee energy drink brand and Project X game development studio. The layoffs affect approximately 20% of its workforce, including some veteran members of its team.
Ubisoft confirmed that it has cut 124 jobs across its global IT team and Canadian studios, bringing the total number of job losses at the publisher to over 1,000 since September 2022.
