Last week, we reported that the UK Division of Inflexion Games was closing down. Now, the company has announced that it is restructuring its studio to ensure “long-term sustainability”, a decision that has led to the letting go of an undisclosed number of employees.
“The video game industry is undergoing a period of significant transition, and Inflexion and Nightingale have felt the impact of these broader trends,” the company announced on LinkedIn.
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“After exploring numerous options, we made the difficult decision to restructure our studio to ensure our long-term sustainability. Sadly this means saying goodbye to a number of incredibly talented and dedicated team members.
“We recognize the deep personal impact this decision has on our departing colleagues and their families. They have played vital roles in our journey, and we are profoundly grateful for their contributions. No words can ease the hardship they face, but we are committed to providing as much support as possible during this transition.”
Inflexion Games said its focus has been on handling the situation “with compassion, respect, and care for every individual affected”. It was not immediately clear the number of employees impacted by the decision. However, the company said it is doing everything possible to help those affected to navigate the period and find new opportunities.
Did Inflexion Games bank too much on Nightingale?
All the statements shared by Inflexion through its official channels and in response to media requests indicate that the studio may have banked too much on the success of Nightingale to sustain its operations across its various studios.
In another publicly shared statement, Inflexion Games said, “Although we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished with Nightingale to date—as well as the enthusiasm and support from our community—the Early Access release hasn’t been commercially successful enough to continue development at our studio’s previous size. As a result, we’re undergoing a restructuring process in Canada, and we will also be closing our UK office.”
Since its release earlier this year, Nightingale’s peak concurrent player count on Steam was 47,569—which it achieved in its launch month. However, the player count has plunged to a daily peak of below 1,000 players according to SteamDB record at the time of writing.
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An unnamed Inflexion employee claimed 22 people were let go. However, GameBaba Universe cannot confirm this number at this time. Several people who were impacted by the layoff have publicly spoken about it on LinkedIn.
“While I am also impacted by the recent layoffs at Inflexion Games (with the previous news of the UK office closure), it’s been tough to see many of my incredibly talented friends and colleagues go through the same situation today,” said head of communications David Scarborough.
One of those impacted by the restructuring was programmer Ka Siu who was laid off on her anniversary. “Hi everyone, I’ve been affected by the layoffs at Inflexion Games (on my one-year work anniversary!) so if you’re looking for a programmer with a leaning towards design and narrative tools, let me know!” she wrote on LinkedIn.
Inflexion Games was founded in 2021. The following year, the company was acquired by Tencent. Nightingale is still in early access on Steam and Epic Games Store. This year has seen over 14,000 people laid off from the video game industry—and there is no sign that we are off the woods yet.
