Based on reporting from Kotaku, Black Forest Video games has introduced the termination of fifty% of its general workforce, which was stated to be round 110 workers in 2023. They be part of a rising record of layoffs skilled within the trade, which continues to speed up from final yr.

Black Forest Video games is a German Developer who was chargeable for Giana Sisters: Twisted Goals, Titan Quest, and the latest Destroy All People remasters. They’re presently engaged on an adaptation of the comedian e-book mini-series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Final Ronin.  

Black Forest Video games is a subsidiary of THQ Nordic who, in flip, is a subsidiary of Embracer Group, a writer who was fairly central within the mass of layoffs that occurred by 2023. The corporate spent a lot of final yr reducing again workers all through all its many subsidiaries, following explosive expansionism and the fall-through of a giant funding.

An enormous contraction of the trade has made this a distressing time for anybody who loves the medium. 2023 was already an enormous yr for job losses within the trade, whereas 2024 is already shaping as much as be worse. Kotaku is conserving a operating tally of online game (and adjoining) layoffs, and by their rely, we’re already approaching almost 6,000 within the first month of the yr.

It’s onerous to say what our beloved pastime will appear like when all of this lastly slows down, however it’s fairly tough to remain optimistic.