In a surprising turn of events, Phoenix Labs, the studio behind popular games Dauntless and Fae Farm, has reportedly laid off an undisclosed number of employees and abruptly cancelled the launch of a highly anticipated game set to debut in Early Access. Former employees, through LinkedIn, have shared their job losses, with rumors suggesting that over 100 employees may have been affected. Polygon senior reporter Nicole Carpenter also confirms the news, revealing that developers were informed about their layoffs during a mass Zoom call.

In response to these reports, Phoenix Labs has confirmed that it carried out employee layoffs earlier today. The company emphasized that this decision is intended to refocus its resources on the successful live service titles, Dauntless and Fae Farm, and cater to the needs of their communities. The studio views this restructuring as a necessary step to ensure its long-term survival and prosperity.

Former principal engineer Kris Morness took to LinkedIn to shed light on the situation, attributing the layoffs to Forte, the owner of Phoenix Labs. According to Morness, the blockchain platform acquired Phoenix Labs in an undisclosed transaction over a year ago. His claims are corroborated by former UX lead Noah Watkins, who stated that the studio's next game was only a few weeks away from being announced and was set to launch in Early Access.

This recent round of layoffs follows a turbulent year for Phoenix Labs, including significant organizational changes and previous rounds of job cuts in both May and December. The May layoffs came after the studio separated from its parent company, Garena, well-known for developing Garena Free Fire. Considering Morness' statement about Forte's involvement, it seems likely that the acquisition played a crucial role in the ownership transition, although it remains unclear why this transaction was not publicly disclosed.

Notably, Phoenix Labs failed to address the acquisition by Forte in its official announcement. In September, CEO Jesse Houston and COO Jeanne-Marie Owens stepped down from their positions for "personal reasons." At that time, Houston expressed optimism about the future of Phoenix Labs and praised the studio's promising pipeline of games under development. However, with the cancellation of the upcoming game and the recent layoffs, it appears that this once-promising pipeline has abruptly come to a halt.

This unfortunate turn of events adds to the growing list of game industry layoffs that have left thousands of workers unemployed since the beginning of 2023. Game Developer has reached out to Phoenix Labs for further comments, and this article will be updated to include their response when it becomes available.

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Update 5/16: Phoenix Labs has confirmed ongoing layoffs, providing additional validation to the reports. Game Developer has contacted Phoenix Labs for comment and will update this story upon receiving a response.