Team17 hit by redundancies - UK firm latest to suffer layoffs
According to a source familiar with the situation, the studio is facing its second wave of layoffs this year.
Update
Team 17 has responded to our request for comment with the following statement:
“In response to the reports concerning the departure of Michael Pattison from Team17, we can confirm we have amicably parted ways with Michael. We can also confirm that we have sadly entered into a period of consultation today within Team17 Digital, with Astragon and Storytoys remaining unaffected by the restructuring plans.”
Original article
Team 17 - the British developer and publisher behind beloved indies including Dredge, Blasphemous 2, and Moving Out 2 – is facing a wave of layoffs. According to an anonymous source familiar with the situation at the studio, this has resulted in the CEO being let go, as well as "tens of redundancies".
Word reportedly came in this morning, following an internal town hall, as staff received a letter informing them their jobs are at risk. It's worth noting that due to the scale of the layoffs, no one has been made redundant as of yet, as a period of consultation will happen first, before any jobs are cut. This will reportedly conclude in November 2023.
VG247 was told a CEO at the company was affected, and Eurogamer corroborates that it is Michael Pattison, current CEO of Team 17 Digital, that is leaving the company. The role will reportedly be filled by Team 17 Commercial Operations Director, Ann Hurley.
In this emergency town hall, the following statement was read out by Hurley, and was later shared with employees in a formal letter:
As explained in today’s announcement, we have just communicated our half year results showing strong growth for the Group in the first half of the year. This reflects the success of our diverse portfolio strategy, and the commitment and expertise of our people in all that we do.
However, we recognise these results were against the backdrop of one of the most competitive years for high quality launches and deep peer discounting that the industry has ever seen. Within our Group, Team17 Digital in particular has felt the pressure of these challenges, as have many companies in our industry.
This comes following redundancies to the companies' development side earlier in the year, in what was then dubbed "realignment" by the company. It's unclear whether the development arm of Team 17 will be hit again, but a source has stated to VG247 that the marketing department appears to be shrinking by 'between 20-30 percent'. This is likely in addition to the "QA department" referenced in Eurogamer's report on the same matter.