CI Games sanctions another 30 layoffs in 'final, targeted round of redundancies'

Lords of the Fallen developer CI Games just delivered its "best year" in terms of revenue but is now laying off another 30 workers—having previously laid off 10 percent of its workforce in January.

The company confirmed the news in a statement sent to Game Developer and explained the layoffs represent a "final, targeted round of redundancies." It said the cuts are part of the business optimization program it started earlier this year.

"This restructure affects approximately 30 roles across production and will help ensure maximum efficiency in delivering strategic priorities going forward," it added in a statement.

"Today's announcement does not affect the Hexworks team and development of 'Project 3,' the studio's next action-RPG title following the success of Lords of the Fallen. 'Project Survive'—the company’s upcoming survival game developed by CI Games' other internal team, Underdog Studio—will receive an extended period to successfully complete the Vertical Slice stage before it enters full production."

CI said all impacted employees were informed about the cuts today and will be "fully supported" throughout the process.

Game Developer has reached back out to CI Games to understand why more job cuts are being made one month after CI Games CEO Marek Tyminski lauded the studio for amassing annual revenues of $60 million.

Layoffs after the "best year" on record

Tyminski said that haul represented the Polish studio's "best year" on record and came with Lords of the Fallen having sold over 1.3 million units.

CI Games is currently working on number of unannounced projects and at least one of those, codenamed 'Survive,' has seemingly entered choppy waters.

The studio recently asked an external agency to evaluate the project and indicated some notable deficiencies have been found.

"The Agency Report indicates that currently some of the mechanics of the game being developed under the project 'Survive' do not meet the assumptions implied by the documentation of this project," reads an investor update published in April.

"The Management Board after an initial analysis of the current status of the project 'Survive' and taking into account the results of the Agency Report, concludes that the game’s release date planned for 2025 is significantly jeopardized."