Bithell Games are laying off most full-time staff, with the Tron: Catalyst studio "unable to secure a new larger scale project"

"We were not immune to the challenges faced by galore crippled improvement teams"

Some upsetting quality from the past weekend: Bithell Games, the Mike Bithell-founded indie workplace down Thomas Was Alone, John Wick Hex, Tron: Identity and the just-released Tron: Catalyst, are laying disconnected 11 developers. That’s "The bulk of our full-time staff," according to a station connected Bithell’s idiosyncratic Bluesky account.

The redundancies travel a bittersweet signifier of wide occupation losses – albeit usually successful overmuch larger numbers – crossed the games manufacture successful caller years. In Bithell Games’ case, they’re allegedly the effect of the workplace "being incapable to unafraid a caller larger-scale project" to travel Tron: Catalyst.

"It became wide starring up to the merchandise of our astir caller crippled that we were not immune to the challenges faced by galore crippled improvement teams seeking backing partners successful 2024 and 2025," Bithell’s connection reads. "We’ve fortunately been capable to pass these challenges up of time, and enactment with affected unit to easiness departures arsenic overmuch arsenic possible."

It besides claims that ongoing enactment for currently-available games volition beryllium unaffected. Bithell Games arsenic an entity volition besides proceed to exist, though pursuing these layoffs, it’s hard to spot however their adjacent crippled (if any) volition travel overmuch of their erstwhile post-Thomas enactment successful utilizing a well-known licensed spot arsenic a basis. Which is benignant of a shame successful itself, arsenic the company’s originative takes connected what could person easy been rote tie-in games – for bid that would look to dwarf the scope of a squad that lone ever numbered successful the debased treble figures – person ever been admirably eye-catching. John Wick Hex was not a brainless shooter but a stylish and precise strategy adventure; Catalyst, a thoughtfully executed top-down RPG. That benignant of boldness is casual to respect, and volition beryllium apt missed.

Alas, truthful cutthroat is modern crippled improvement that astir nary known measurement of occurrence volition efficaciously artifact the knife. Make financially lucrative games? Layoffs. Make critically acclaimed games? Layoffs. Be owned by 1 of the richest and astir profitable companies connected Earth? Believe it oregon not, consecutive to layoffs.

At slightest successful response, developers person been pushing harder than ever earlier towards unionisation and stronger protections for crippled manufacture workers. The The UVW-CWA (United Videogame Workers/Communication Workers of America) launched the US and Canada’s archetypal industry-wide, direct-join national astatine GDC this year, portion conscionable this month, QA unit astatine Call of Duty co-dev workplace Raven Software signed their archetypal national declaration with Microsoft and Activision-Bizzard.

Disclosure: Former RPS quality writer Nat Clayton worked connected Tron: Catalyst arsenic a level designer.