In August, Payload Studios announced that it was reducing its headcount by 25%, a detail confirmed by the company’s founder and CEO Russ Clarke on LinkedIn. The TerraTech developer is yet again going through another round of layoffs, except this time the CEO doesn’t want to comment on the number.
“It’s true that last week we announced another redundancy round,” Clarke told GamesIndustry.biz. “This has come out of the blue after a project that we were relying on did not materialize, and placed us in a very difficult position.”
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“The details, including the handling of the notice period and redundancy payments as well as the number of people who will ultimately lose their jobs, are still to be determined – but we had to notify staff last week, to give as much warning as possible to all those who might be affected.
“The situation is very much in flux, so we aren’t able to confirm any specifics – but we aim to give answers to our staff later this week, as soon as we have them. We are a small studio fighting to survive in very challenging times, but as always, our people are our highest priority.”
A source familiar with the matter hinted the latest layoff also impacted one of Payload’s co-founders. However, it is still unclear which of them was impacted. Clarke also confirmed this in the statement to GIB.
“I’m afraid so, yes,” Clarke said without disclosing which co-founder was impacted. “We are still figuring out the details, but the team that goes forward will need to be very lean.”
The layoffs appeared to have happened last week. GameBaba Universe counted 13 profiles of people who previously worked at Payload Studios who have posted about their roles being made redundant. It is possible the number of those impacted may be higher.
The roles affected were generalized, cutting across community manager, QA tester, artists, producer, designer, and director.
Comments from impacted Payload Studios employees
Some of the now-former Payload Studios employees noted that the latest layoff rounds were unexpected. In other words, they didn’t see it coming. However, others relished the experience they garnered while working with the studio.
“I was recently made redundant from my position at Payload Studios, where I had the pleasure of contributing as both a Quality Assurance Tester and a Junior Data Analyst,” wrote data analyst Yuuki Teja Due. “Although this change was unexpected, I’m grateful for the skills I gained and the amazing team I worked with.”
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Jamie who has spent a decade with the company was also impacted. He wrote, “It’s with a heavy heart I can confirm my role at Payload Studios is being made redundant – after 10 long years alongside a group of extremely talented and lovely people.”
Director of people and culture Khally Saarman-Jones said it breaks her heart that her journey with Payload Studios had come to an end considering the fact that it was the highlight of her career.
“Sadly I can now be added to the long list of games industry professionals impacted by redundancy in 2024,” she wrote. “Payload has been the highlight of my career so far. Over the last 6+ years I have had some of my best professional moments, and faced some of my biggest challenges.”
Payload Studios is a British independent game developer founded by Russ Clarke and Vincent Scheurer. They also run the Tentacle Zone stand at games conventions across the UK that offer indie developers an affordable way to showcase their games. The Farringdon, London-based studio recently received a minority stake investment from Tencent.
