Layoffs were announced at Disruptive Games, the developer behind Megalith. According to GameBaba Universe’s sources, the layoffs happened on Thursday, February 22, 2024. Around 30 employees of the studio were affected across various departments including QA, audio, production, art, design, operations, and HR.
According to their LinkedIn page, Disruptive Games headquartered in Berkeley, California had between 11-50 employees. If that number was accurate at the time of layoff, it means around 60% of the studio’s employees were affected.
Founded in 2009 by industry veterans, Disruptive Games describes itself as an independent development studio. The studio said they are “dedicated to creating the highest quality gameplay experiences, with a special focus on pushing the boundaries of what can be done with connected gameplay”.
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It is now over a week since the layoffs were made and there has not been any official statement from the studio. GameBaba Universe searched through the company’s LinkedIn and X profiles and found none. Interestingly, the studio was still advertising for the role of lead world designer as early as a month ago.
In addition to developing Megalith, Disruptive Games has worked on several projects, mostly as a support studio. The studio worked on several notable franchises. They also did VFX work on Godfall for Counterplay and built a server back-end for Orcs Must Die! Unchained for Robot Entertainment and Sony
Disruptive Games also assisted 505 Games in bringing BloodStained to consoles, particularly PS4 and Xbox One. It is believed that the studio is currently working on a “secret project” with Amazon Games. However, it is unclear if the recent layoffs will affect that project.
The reason for the layoffs at Disruptive Games is still unclear since there is no official statement from the company. However, considering the current wave of layoffs across the game industry, the studio is not alone.
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In 2023, it was estimated that over 10,000 jobs were lost across the game industry. After the first two months of 2024, over 7,000 have been lost already. At this rate, the job losses this year are well on track to double the numbers of last year.
Reactions from laid-off Disruptive Games employees
While there was no official comment from the studio, director of game design Sean Stahl confirmed the layoffs through a LinkedIn post. Stahl said he was eager to connect the impacted staff with new opportunities and was enthusiastic to see the games they will make.
“Disruptive Games has sadly had to let go of many amazing, talented game developers,” Stahl wrote. “If anyone in my network has open roles in any discipline, please reach out and I will refer you to some of the most compassionate, dedicated, growth-minded individuals I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.”
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While not every impacted member of the studio publicly spoke about the layoffs, those that did recounted their time at Disruptive Games, the friends and family they have made, or like lead environment artist Tim Diaz simply looking for new opportunities.
“I’ve been affected by layoffs hitting Disruptive Games and as such am now looking for my next chapter in game dev,” wrote senior technical producer Caydence Funk. “My time at Disruptive was an amazing experience with so many passionate and talented people!”
Lead audio designer Mason Victoria was saddened by the layoff but was keen to see what new adventures awaited. “It saddens me to say that layoffs have impacted my team and my time at Disruptive Games – along with many of my talented colleagues – has come to an end. The bond we had was truly special, and I wholeheartedly thank the DG team for inspiring me and helping me become a stronger leader and a better creative.”
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Senior 3D environment artist Guillaume Hecht was also sad about the layoff but was also thankful for the “amazing time” he had with the studio. Regarding the friends he had made while working with the studio, he said, “I truly hope to cross your path again, you are gems”.
“I’m also among the fallen today,” wrote writer and narrative designer Mandy Benanav. “I’m very sad – this has been an INCREDIBLE team and a super cool project, and I haven’t fully processed that I won’t be hanging out with all of my friends everyday anymore. And added to that, a huge amount of the most talented people I’ve ever known are now jobless and that just hurts to know.”
