Over the weekend, a few well-known developers at Cryptic Studios posted "looking for work" notices on their LinkedIn, fueling speculation that something might be happening at the MMO developer. Given the current climate of game studios laying off staff recently, the LinkedIn posts have fueled fears that Cryptic might be gearing up to be the next.
First spotted by Twitter user Timur222 (as reported by Game World Observer on Reddit), the posts all hit LinkedIn from multiple developers at Cryptic Studios across multiple disciplines. Some of the names include prominent game devs on the Star Trek Online team, notably senior game designer Jesse Heinig and community manager Mike "Ambassador Kael" Tatum.
Just saw thisLooks like Cryptic Studios was hit with layoffs pic.twitter.com/6trys9Pxiw
— Timur222 (@bogorad222) October 14, 2023
The Looking For Work posts have garnered enough attention that Tatum took to Twitter to clarify that he has "not been laid off" from Cryptic, further stating that there have been no changes at Cryptic "at this time."
Just to post it here, no, I have not been laid off from Cryptic.
— Ambassador Kael (@AmbassadorKael) October 16, 2023
To further clarify, none of the teams at Cryptic have changed at this time.
— Ambassador Kael (@AmbassadorKael) October 16, 2023
While nothing concrete has been announced by Cryptic, Gearbox, or parent company Embracer Group, it's not hard to speculate that something could be up when multiple team members switch their LinkedIn profiles over around the same time. Embracer Group itself is in the midst of turmoil, at least how it looks on the outside, as the company has made several changes this year to save costs. From layoffs at the beginning of the summer that could be due to the $2 billion USD deal that fell through from a Saudi-backed Investment firm to shuttering Saints Row developer Volition Studios, Embracer seems to be reeling as of late.
Last month, Embracer floated the idea that Gearbox Entertainment could be up for sale as well, which would include the MMO developer as part of the sale. Cryptic Studios was put under the Gearbox umbrella when Embracer Group acquired Perfect World Entertainment in late 2021. Embracer Group has also made a splash outside of purely gaming, with the purchase of Middle-earth Enterprises, which holds many of the film, TV and games rights to The Lord of the Rings. Most recently, the KOTOR Remake was delisted, with many speculating whether the closure of studios and Embracer's restructuring are the reasons for the stumbling block here.
We've reached out to our PR rep at Gearbox for comment on this matter, who has passed our request on up the chain. We'll update this story as soon as we hear back.
