Layoffs are always something complicated. And if any company knows this, it’s Phoenix Labs, the developer behind the games Fae Farm and Dauntless. It has carried out another round of layoffs that has affected a large part of the studio. In a statement published on LinkedIn, the company expressed that we have made the difficult decision to let go of most of the studio as part of unfortunate but necessary changes to our operations. Phoenix Labs promised that it would share more details in the coming weeks about the implications of this decision for its games in development.
A large portion of its workers are going on strike
This dismissal is not an isolated event; Phoenix Labs has faced several rounds of cuts in recent years. In 2023, the company laid off 9% of its staff and, according to reports, implemented another series of layoffs in 2024 just before the announcement of a new game. This upcoming title is rumored to be called Everhaven, an open-world sandbox game that was scheduled to be revealed during the PC Gaming Show on June 9, 2024, and for which we might have early access in September.
Phoenix Labs became independent in 2023, but was later acquired by Forte Labs, a company focused on blockchain. Since its launch in 2019, Dauntless, a game influenced by the Monster Hunter series, has had a complicated journey. Despite reaching new platforms like Steam last month, the game has received criticism, especially for the introduction of a new monetization structure that has been labeled as predatory by the gaming community.
As Phoenix Labs faces these challenges, the future of its games and the direction of the studio are uncertain. The community awaits with interest and concern the upcoming updates that the developer will share.