Outriders Studio People Can Fly Lays Off More Than 30 Employees

People Can Fly, the developer behind 2021's surprise shooter hit Outriders, has laid off more than 30 employees. This news comes by way of Kotaku, which reports that its source with knowledge of the situation said the job cuts affected only staff working on an unannounced game at the studio, codenamed Project Gemini, that is to be published by Square Enix. 

Kotaku reached out to People Can Fly after its source sent screenshots confirming that layoffs happened at the studio, and development director Adam Alker confirmed the news. Alker cited budget limitations and a shrinking scope for Project Gemini as for why it was laying off «over 30 people.» The publication notes that another 20 outside of the 30 laid off were removed from the project and moved to other projects at People Can Fly. 

«We understand that this decision impacts each of you, and we want to express our gratitude for your hard work, dedication, and contributions thus far,» Alker's email to those affected reads, according to Kotaku. «To those individuals transitioning out of the studio due to these changes, we extend our sincere appreciation for the skills and expertise you brought to the team. We will keep our fingers crossed for your next steps in game dev and offer all our support.» 

These People Can Fly layoffs join a string of other disheartening 2024 job cuts, which total more than 3500. Riot Games laid off 530 employees this week, and we recently learned Lords of the Fallen Publisher CI Games was laying off 10 percent of its staff, that Unity would be laying off 1,800 people by the end of March, and that Twitch had laid off 500 employees. 

We also learned that Discord had laid off 170 employees, that layoffs happened at PTW, a support studio that's worked with companies like Blizzard and Capcom, and that SteamWorld Build company, Thunderful Group, let go of roughly 100 people. Dead by Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive also reportedly laid off 45 people, too. 

Last year, more than 10,000