Amid a flurry of studio sales, layoffs, and project cancellations in the videogame industry, Team17, the British developer and publisher that brought you Worms, Overcooked, and Dredge (which made Paste‘s list of the best games of 2023 so far back in June), has announced a series of layoffs as part of a company restructure.
In an internal town hall at Team17, it was stated that “Team17 Digital in particular has felt the pressure” of recent challenges in the gaming industry, and on Monday VG47 reported that the marketing department is also due to be sized down by 20-30%. In another Monday report from Eurogamer, approximately 50 roles are expected to be cut from Team17’s internal Quality Assurance unit, and CEO Michael Pattison is said to have “amicably parted ways” with the developer to be replaced by Ann Hurley, Commercial Operations Director.
This is not the first series of hits Team17 has suffered in the past few years. In March the developer and publisher announced another series of layoffs focused primarily in its art and design sectors. This was also branded as a restructure and “re-alignment of elements within its studio operating business model” for the company.
In February of 2022 Eurogamer published a report on Team17 operations as several employees came forward on issues about working conditions, pay, and shortcomings in management. Then CEO Pattinson vowed to take action shortly after. Throughout 2023, however, Team17 shares have “fallen steadily throughout 2023, with the company losing almost half its value since January,” bringing us to the present round of layoffs.