Some upsetting information from the previous weekend: Bithell Video games, the Mike Bithell-founded indie studio behind Thomas Was Alone, John Wick Hex, Tron: Id and the just-released Tron: Catalyst, are shedding 11 builders. That’s “The vast majority of our full-time employees,” in response to a submit on Bithell’s private Bluesky account.
The redundancies observe a tragic sample of widespread job losses – albeit normally in a lot bigger numbers – throughout the video games {industry} in recent times. In Bithell Video games’ case, they’re allegedly the results of the studio “being unable to safe a brand new larger-scale mission” to observe Tron: Catalyst.
“It grew to become clear main as much as the discharge of our most up-to-date sport that we weren’t resistant to the challenges confronted by many sport growth groups searching for funding companions in 2024 and 2025,” Bithell’s assertion reads. “We’ve fortuitously been in a position to talk these challenges forward of time, and work with affected employees to ease departures as a lot as attainable.”
It additionally claims that ongoing assist for currently-available video games will probably be unaffected. Bithell Video games as an entity may also live on, although following these layoffs, it’s exhausting to see how their subsequent sport (if any) will observe a lot of their earlier post-Thomas work in utilizing a well known licensed property as a foundation. Which is kind of a disgrace in itself, as the corporate’s inventive takes on what might have simply been rote tie-in video games – for collection that would seem to dwarf the scope of a crew that solely ever numbered within the low double figures – have at all times been admirably eye-catching. John Wick Hex was not a brainless shooter however a classy and exact technique journey; Catalyst, a thoughtfully executed top-down RPG. That type of boldness is simple to respect, and will probably be probably missed.
Alas, so cutthroat is trendy sport growth that nearly no recognized measure of success will successfully block the knife. Make financially profitable video games? Layoffs. Make critically acclaimed video games? Layoffs. Be owned by one of many richest and most worthwhile firms on Earth? Imagine it or not, straight to layoffs.
A minimum of in response, builders have been pushing tougher than ever earlier than in direction of unionisation and stronger protections for sport {industry} employees. The The UVW-CWA (United Videogame Staff/Communication Staff of America) launched the US and Canada’s first industry-wide, direct-join union at GDC this yr, whereas simply this month, QA employees at Name of Responsibility co-dev studio Raven Software program signed their first union contract with Microsoft and Activision-Bizzard.
Disclosure: Former RPS information author Nat Clayton labored on Tron: Catalyst as a degree designer.
