In January last year, Bossa Games, famous for developing the Surgeon Simulator announced that it was shedding one-third of its workforce. Last week the studio made another round of layoffs which it described as painful.
“We’ve had to make the painful decision to scale back, focusing on the late-stage production of Lost Skies and its upcoming launch, ensuring the game is successfully released and evolved for its players for the foreseeable future,” read the message shard by Henrique Olifiers, the co-founder, co-CEO of Bossa Games.
“Once Lost Skies is established and enjoying live operations, we’ll reshape into small teams working independently on novel game ideas brought to the players as early as possible.”
The number of people impacted by this decision was not disclosed, unlike in the previous layoff round. Olifiers noted that the current wave of layoffs in the game industry is not a phase, but rather, “a fundamental transformation of the games industry”.
The cofounder also predicted that the game industry of two years in the future will be different from the one we knew two years ago. He further extended his sympathy to those who were impacted by the layoff.
Bossa Games describes itself as a BAFTA-winning independent games developer and publisher. They are popular for making the simulator games Surgeon Simulator, I am Bread, and I am Fish.
Comment from ex-Bossa Games employee
At the time of writing, GameBaba Universe could spot only one post made by an employee impacted by the layoff. Alice Turner who worked in the studio as a chief people officer recounted her five-and-half-year journey with the studio.
“Wow what a journey,” Turner wrote on LinkedIn. “From walking into the studio is Shoreditch with crazy artwork all over that walls & orange pipes (plus some hidden art behind the clocks), to now being a fully remote studio with people based around the world”.
Lost Skies is a significant deviation from the kind of creations that Bossa Games are known for. The company said Lost Skies “marks a new and ambitious direction for our team, forging our path into the PvE survival genre”.
Do you agree with Bossa Games boss that the game industry will change overwhelmingly in the next two years? Share your thoughts with us in the comment box below.
