Thunderful Group, which develops and publishes the acclaimed SteamWorld series alongside several other titles, has announced it’s laying off 80-100 employees as part of its second round of “restructuring” in less than a year – saying it sees “no other alternatives in order to ensure the Group’s long-term sustainability and resilience”.
Thunderful came into being in 2017 after the merger of Swedish indie developers Image & Form and Zoink, and has since expanded to including several other publishers and developers, including Cloud Gardens studio Coatsink and Somerville developer Jumpship. In January, the company announced it was laying off around 20 percent of its staff as part of a “restructuring programme” management believed would “strengthen the Group’s long-term competitive position”, but it now seems Thunderful failed to achieve its initial goal.
In an announcement shared on its website, Thunderful – which also divested its distribution business earlier this year – confirmed it was undertaking a further round of restructuring as it looks to scale back internal development and ‘double down’ on third-party game publishing.
“Whilst significant reductions in cost levels were achieved this year,” it explained, “revenue targets have not been met and the Group is still struggling with negative cash flow.” As a result, the company has made the decision to lay off a “large portion of the development team” affective immediately, impacting 80-100 employees.
It argues its shift from in-house development to external publishing will “reduce the Group’s fixed costs and allow for greater flexibility, enabling faster, diverse game releases by leveraging external talent and resources in a balanced manner, while still retaining some internal development capacity.”
“It is regrettable to announce a second restructuring of Thunderful in less than a year,” Thunderful Group CEO Martin Walfisz wrote in a statement shared alongside the news, “but we unfortunately see no other alternatives in order to ensure the Group’s long-term sustainability and resilience… We have many talented and dedicated employees, and it is with great regret that we are forced to part ways.”
In February, Thunderful said last year’s SteamWorld Build – the first game in the SteamWorld series since 2019 – “fell slightly short of expectations”, and that it was putting the previously announced SteamWorld Headhunter “on hold”. Its most recent title, SteamWorld Heist 2, arrived this August, earning itself three out of five stars in Eurogamer’s review. “The core of SteamWorld Heist still burns brightly in this turn-based tactics sequel,” Katharine wrote, “but its bid to go bigger and better is a risk that hasn’t quite paid off.”
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