Playtonic confirms layoffs: ‘The landscape is shifting, and with it, so must we’

Yooka-Laylee developer and publisher Playtonic Games has confirmed that a number of its staff has been laid off.

Numerous Playtonic staff have been posting on social media over the past week that they had lost their jobs, making it increasingly likely that these weren’t individual cases and that Playtonic had conducted a round of layoffs.

The company has now officially confirmed this in a statement on X and Bluesky, though it hasn’t clarified how many staff are affected.

“This is one of those messages we never wanted to have to write,” the statement reads. “We’ve all seen in recent years how the games industry has been changing, resulting in studio after studio finding themselves in situations where to continue to exist, they must make painful decisions – decisions that impact the lives of so many individual talented developers.

“Like others, we’ve felt the knock-on effects and after exploring every possible avenue, we’ve had to make the incredibly heartbreaking decision to say goodbye to some truly brilliant members of the Playtonic team.

“This isn’t a reflection of anyone’s talent or dedication, the people leaving have poured so much heart, creativity, and care into everything we do. They’ve helped shape our studio, our games, and our culture, and we’re incredibly proud of what we’ve built together.

“This isn’t simply a difficult moment, it’s a period of profound change in how games are created and financed. The landscape is shifting, and with it, so must we.

“Our thoughts are with those we’re parting ways with. Saying goodbye to such skilled, kind, and committed people is the hardest part of all. We will always consider you part of the Playtonic family, and we’ll do all we can to support your next steps.

“If you’re reading this and you’re hiring, we can’t speak highly enough of our departing team members. You’d be lucky to have them. To our industry friends who may be facing similar challenges, we send you our solidarity, strength, and hope for a brighter path forward. To everyone affected, thank you, truly.”

Playtonic launched a publishing label in 2021 called Playtonic Friends, and later that year a minority stake in the company was acquired by Tencent.

While Playtonic Games itself has only developed two games to date – 2017’s Yooka-Laylee and its 2019 sequel Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair – with remaster Yooka-Replaylee set for release later this year, it has published 10 indie games under its Playtonic Friends label, including Demon Turf, Lil Gator Game and Victory Heat Rally.