Sadly news of massive layoffs within the video games industry has become somewhat regular and there appears to be no end in sight. It was just a few years ago that investor-driven conglomerate Embracer Group began snatching up just about every non-major publisher-owned studio up across the planet. Since then, as some of its major investors have backed out, it has continually either sold off studios, closed them entirely, or repeatedly laid off staff. One such studio is a support branch of Gearbox Software called Lost Boys Interactive, whose credits include Diablo IV, Tiny Tina’s Wonderland, WWE 2K, and more, that has just announced a 2nd round of layoffs.
About Lost Boys Interactive (via Linkedin):
“Lost Boys Interactive was founded in 2017 and is based in Madison, Wisconsin. In 2022, Lost Boys Interactive was acquired by Embracer Group and is a remote first co-development studio whose credits include the WWE2K series, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, PUBG, Diablo IV, New World, Zenimax Online and Snap On Tools.”
According to its official site, it presently has over 200 employees spanning across 40 states in the United States but it’s not known how many are left after this latest round of layoffs. Since 2017 there’s been a dizzying trail of buyouts beginning with Embracer Group purchasing Gearbox (Borderlands, Duke Nukem, Godfall) in 2021, and then Gearbox purchasing Lost Boys in 2022, at which point its staff reportedly grew to over 400. Then Take-Two announced its purchase of Gearbox Entertainment in March. However, it appears that Embracer Group still has controlling interests in Lost Boys as a first round of layoffs was announced in January, and now another has just occurred.
Per Lost Boys Interactive (via Linkedin):
- “Lost Boys Interactive has made the very difficult decision to reduce our overall headcount in accordance with local laws and consultation processes. As a remote first company, this impacts employees across several states.”
- “As a co-development partner studio, Lost Boys is directly influenced by the projects and priorities of our development clients. The need to adapt to shifting market conditions within the video game industry has required us to reassess our operations to align with the evolving needs of our business and our partners.”
- “Today is a challenging day for Lost Boys Interactive as we face the difficult decision to reduce our workforce,” says Shaun Nivens, CEO of Lost Boys Interactive. “We recognize the impact of this decision on our team members, who have contributed greatly to our success. Decisions involving staff reductions are never made lightly, and this action was taken only after considering all other options. We are committed to supporting them in every way we can during this transition.”
News of massive layoffs within the video games industry has become an annual reporting item with smaller layoffs like these happening on an almost regular frequency. According to videogameslayoffs.com (via VGC), the number laid off in 2023 reached 10,500, and in 2024 those numbers have already reached 11,540 for a grand total of 22,040 workers in the industry who have lost their jobs in just two years.