Australian Studio League Of Geeks Has Laid Off Over Half Of Its Staff

Headlines like this have been all too common in 2023, and this is yet another as the year comes to a close. Australian development studio League of Geeks has announced that over 50% of its employees have been made redundant.

The devastating news comes from a statement shared by the studio, confirming that the entire team working on Jumplight Odyssey has been laid off, resulting in the game’s full release being “put on hold indefinitely.” The statement confirms that this unfortunate situation has come about due to “rising operation costs, a weakening AUD, poor Early Access sales, and unprecedented withdrawal of funding opportunities.”

The studio is currently working on a remake of the strategy title Solium Infernum, which will be unaffected by this change, while the aforementioned Jumplight Odyssey will seemingly stay in early access for the foreseeable.

We’ve got some unfortunate news to share, folks. A thread: pic.twitter.com/hDjlrkKtdV

— League of Geeks (@LeagueofGeeks) December 5, 2023

These news stories are always rough, but League of Geeks has been around for close to 15 years, contributing massively to the game development scene here in Australia, so it’s a particularly bitter pill to swallow. The statement that was blasted out on the studio’s socials was accompanied by a spreadsheet, filled with the contact details of the 29 impacted staff who agreed to have their names listed. There’s never a good time for things like this to happen, but just before the holiday season kicks in is notably rough.

First, most importantly – the staff affected. We truly believe our crew are among the most talented in the biz. You can find a full list of affected staff here – if you are in a position to hire them, do it. You won’t regret it. Let our loss be your gain. https://t.co/8AkgOldRSS

— League of Geeks (@LeagueofGeeks) December 5, 2023

The names listed come with the highest recommendation from League of Geeks and we here at WellPlayed hope that they all find work as soon as possible.