Surgeon Simulator developer Bossa Studios confirms layoffs

Surgeon SImulator and Lost Skies developer Bossa Studios has laid off around one third of its workforce.

Bossa confirmed the news to GamesIndustry.biz after word began spreading on social media and said that 40 people remain at the UK studio.

A list of affected employees obtained by GI indicates that 19 people were impacted by the cuts, which mostly targeted staff in QA and production roles.

Bossa co-founder and CEO, Henrique Olifiers, said the layoffs were the result of a "perfect storm of events" including a surge of triple-A releases towards the end of 2023 that hurt the visibility of double-A and indie titles, rising operational costs, and waning investment opportunities.

"We had to make the difficult decision to reshape the studio to reflect the position we find ourselves in at the end of this year, focusing all our efforts now on Lost Skies. This means we find ourselves in the heartbreaking position of having to let roughly one third of the studio go–amongst them, some of our closest colleagues," he added.

"While we are doing our utmost to support them, we would appreciate any help our industry peers can give in spreading the word about these great people–or even better, hiring them as part of your team. You'll be hard-pressed to find a better game development professional than one of these Bossians, whom we'll vouch for without hesitation.

Olifiers said the company tried its "very best" to avoid being in this position, adding that "nothing is harder than seeing people you admire being let go."

Game Developer reached out to Bossa yesterday to find out how the studio will be supporting those impacted by the layoffs but has yet to hear back.

Layoffs sadly became one of the defining trends of 2023 with tens of thousands of workers losing their jobs during a year that became known as one of the best in recent memory for games, but one of the worst for those who make them.