When you start with bad news, the week can only get better from here, right?
Sadly, Deviation Games, a studio started by former Call of Duty and Treyarch developers in 2020, has closed.
The studio was apparently working on a AAA first-person shooter but has been plagued with difficult situations and layoffs since its formation and has now been forced to close without being able to get their game out into the world.
Deviation Games or their partner, PlayStation, has not yet confirmed the news. Still, employees for the company have taken to LinkedIn and ResetEra to announce that they are looking for other work due to the studio’s closure.
Kriste Stull, chief HR and operations officer at Deviation Games, posted on her LinkedIn profile:
It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closure of Deviation Games. I want to express my deepest gratitude to our entire team. Thank you for all your hard work, dedication, and contributions to Deviation; I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have worked with each and every one of you.
To the entire video game industry, we will be hosting a networking event, and we would love for any/all companies/studios hiring to participate. Please reach out to me directly if you are interested in attending.
To all the Deviators out there, we will always cherish the memories we made together. Thank you for being a part of our journey. Go get ’em!
Other employees and industry members have sent their well wishes to the team, hoping that this won’t keep them down.
It’s estimated that the games industry is currently sitting at around 8,000 layoffs for 2024, which is around 80% of the number from 2023.
We’ll keep our fingers crossed that we’ll post less and less of this kind of news as the weeks roll on.