Skydance Games Lays Off Staff, Scales Down Projects After Warner Deal
Skydance Games laid off an unspecified number of staff this week, just over a month after the Warner Bros. merger closed on Oct. 6. The company said it is scaling down some projects, and former colleagues posted on LinkedIn about lost teammates.
Skydance Games laid off an unspecified number of employees in the past few days, just over a month after its parent's merger with Warner Bros. closed on October 6. The skydance games hit layoffs follow a reorganization that the company says will scale down some projects.
A Skydance spokesperson confirmed the cuts in a statement to Variety on Monday. "We have stepped back and taken some time to consider where we are investing our efforts and have made the difficult decision to scale down some of our projects," the spokesperson said.
The company has not said how many roles are affected or which projects are being cut back.
What the company said
The spokesperson described the changes as "reorganization and operational shifts across a few areas of our business." They added: "This is not a reflection of the talent, dedication, or creativity of those affected." The company said it is committed to handling the process with transparency, care and respect.
How the units were combined
On October 6, Paramount Games Studio, owned by Skydance, was merged with Warner Bros. Games' internal developers. Those include Avalanche Software, maker of "Hogwarts Legacy"; NetherRealm Studios; Rocksteady Studios; TT Games; and the WB Games teams in Montreal and Boston.
The games teams were also merged with the companies' experiences divisions into a single team. It oversees properties ranging from "Star Trek" and "Mission: Impossible" to "Harry Potter," "Mortal Kombat" and "Game of Thrones."
Skydance promoted Tony Driscoll to head the combined games and experiences unit. He was named head of Paramount's video game studio in June.
Wider cost-cutting
Late last month, Skydance launched a voluntary buyout program across the company as it moved to a five-day-a-week office policy. Co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz have promised Wall Street at least $6 billion in cost synergies from the merger, which will include layoffs. The pair presented their first quarterly earnings since the deal closed on Monday.
Games companies have been consolidating for several years. Last month, Microsoft offered voluntary buyouts to 25% of its workforce, including staff at Xbox.
Reaction from staff
Former colleagues turned to LinkedIn. Rebecca Vessal, a senior gameplay and game AI programmer at Skydance Games, wrote that most of her game team at Skydance Interactive was laid off. She said she was not affected herself. "They are good peeps to work with and I would work with them again in a heartbeat," she wrote.
Engineer David Vera said Skydance "just lost a ton of great talent yesterday" and recommended several dozen art, design and engineering colleagues for open roles.
