In January, Embracer-owned Lost Boys Interactive announced it was making a deep cut to its headcount. Around 170 employees were impacted at that time. The studio announced another round of layoffs on Friday, September 6, 2024. This time, the actual number of those affected is unknown. However, we believe it is “massive”.
“Lost Boys Interactive has made the very difficult decision to reduce our overall headcount in accordance with local laws and consultation processes,” the studio announced through a LinkedIn post. “As a remote-first company, this impacts employees across several states.”
They expressed their commitment to assisting employees impacted by the decision to find “new positions as quickly as possible”—the extent to which help will be rendered is often vague. However, in this case, the studio clearly mentioned that they would collaborate with recruiters and other studios to connect those impacted with job opportunities.
Lost Boys Interactive said this round of layoff was in response to “shifting market conditions within the video game industry” which made it paramount for them “to reassess our operations to align” with the needs of their partners and business.
Reacting to the layoff announcement, Lost Boys Interactive CEO Shaun Nivens also said the decision was difficult, adding, “We recognize the impact of this decision on our team members, who have contributed greatly to our success. Decisions involving staff reductions are never made lightly, and this action was taken only after considering all other options. We are committed to supporting them in every way we can during this transition.”
Lost Boys Interactive is based in Madison, Wisconsin. The studio was founded in 2017 but was acquired by Embracer Group in 2022. It is a remote-first co-development studio and has worked on high-profile titles including PUBG, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, WWE2K series, Diablo IV, and New World.
Ex Lost Boys Interactive Employees react to the second round of layoff
GameBaba Universe tracked over two dozen posts made by employees impacted by the second round of layoffs at Lost Boys Interactive indicating that the number may be a high double-digit. Those affected cut across quality assurance, artists, designers, animators, and engineers.
While some employees like Jeremy Blake who worked as a designer, Marina Martins who worked as a UI Artist, systems designer Joshua Patterson, animator Christopher Donahoe, and Kyle A., a quality assurance analyst kept their posts short, it was a time of deep reflection for others—especially those reliving the experience of yet another career layoff and a few of those experiencing it for the first time in their career.
“Like so many other talented folks, I was unfortunately impacted by the recent layoffs at Lost Boys Interactive,” wrote lead environment artist Rian Shelton. “This isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last, but I can say the silver lining in all of these experiences has been the relationships created along the way.”
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Senior environment artist Matt Wood focused more on highlighting the talent of not just himself but also those of his colleagues impacted by the layoff saying, “If you have read the many posts popping up on LinkedIn about their experience with the studio, then you know that the company was very lucky to have such hard-working and passionate people working with them”.
Lost Boys Interactive did all it could to prevent the layoff?
While the popular sentiment in a layoff scenario is usually to point accusing fingers at the management, principal release engineer Greg Vaughan said Lost Boys Interactive did all it could to make the transition easier for those impacted.
“LBI has been an amazing company to work for, and even in separation they did everything they could to provide those impacted with security and assistance as they transition to their next roles,” Vaughan wrote. “They always put employees first, even when hard times make hard decisions unavoidable.”
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Matt Weidenfeller paid a glowing tribute to the management of the studio saying they gave him a chance even when he had no game experience. In the lengthy post, Weidenfeller wrote:
“To the leaders at Lost Boys Interactive, thank you. Thank you for taking a chance on me when I had no games experience. Thank you for your support and thank you for allowing me to build one more amazing recruiting team, and thank you for letting me take a step back and do what brought me fulfillment later in my tenure at LBI. What a joyous thrill ride it was.
“Thank you for creating an environment where we all could thrive while being our own unique selves. You created an environment where we could all feel like family, a community, and that’s all anyone can ask of an employer. I know you held out for as long as you could. Your generosity and optimism for the future of the studio is appreciated greatly. I will forever feel blessed for having the Lost Boys experience. It was lighting in a bottle, and it was amazing!”
Layoffs in the Video game Industry have become so frequent that to many every new announcement is just another statistic. However, GameBaba Universe always tries to humanize those impacted by amplifying their voices and including links to their profiles for those who may have open roles for them.
