Layoffs continue to rock the industry, as the latest round comes from Singularity 6, the developer responsible for the cozy MMO Palia.
Multiple developers have taken to social media and LinkedIn to report the layoffs, and it seems the layoffs are affecting different areas on the team, from environmental artists, character artists, the narrative team, engineers and more. One developer, an animator on Palia, states that they got the news they were laid off while on vacation.
Also thank you for everyone reaching out right now, I’m ok. Gonna punch back and kick ass and make a proper looking-for-work post highlighting my recent stuff. This community is amazing and so kind, and I’m thankful for all thinking of me and my coworkers laid off from S6.
— Daphne Fiato ?Looking For Work? (@invaderroxas) April 4, 2024
I've also been caught in a round of layoffs after having been with S6 for 5 years. ?? If you have great #gamedev remote openings, I'm open for work out of Los Angeles, CA.
— Brian Ernst?? (@leetNightshade) April 4, 2024
Unfortunately I was affected by layoffs today. If you need a gal who loves Content Creation, Creators, and is a general goblin, I'm ya gal~!
— mel (@melprismpower) April 4, 2024
Currently, the exact number of layoffs is unknown, though based on what we've seen across LinkedIn and social media, we can confirm at least fifteen developers (Update: one of S6's devs affected by the layoffs is stating "49 people Thanos snapped") We reached out to our PR contact for Singularity 6, requesting comment on the layoffs and officially confirm how extensive they were.
Like many companies in the games industry the last few years, Singularity 6 joins a long list of game developer layoffs this year, with 2024 becoming one of the worst years on record for the amount of game developer jobs lost - and it's only April. 2023 wasn't pretty either, and other doesn't seem to be any sign of layoffs slowing down as the year continues.
Currently, Palia is in open beta, though that has somewhat been obfuscated since the Steam launch, much to the chagrin of players. Palia has been in open beta since its launch on PC back in August of 2023 and has since launched on Nintendo Switch as well, with full cross-play and progression between all versions.
We will update this article with a statement from Singularity 6 should they choose to provide one.
Ta, Dualius, for the news tip.
[Update 10:15am PT 4/5/2024] Singularity 6 has issued a statement to Polygon reporter Nicole Carpenter, confirming the layoffs. According to the statement, the layoffs affected 35 percent of the total team, and confirms the studio is offering severance, career assistance and more.
"Following Palia’s release on Steam, we evaluated the support needed to deliver the highest-quality gameplay service for long-term stability. We made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce, which impacted around 35 percent of our talented and hardworking team members. We value their contributions and are committed to supporting them throughout this process, including severance, work-placement and career guidance assistance, and retainment of all company-provided development equipment.
This decision was not made lightly, and comes after careful consideration of our development and business needs to support Palia and its community. We remain committed to delivering passion in imagination, and maintaining the dedication and creativity that our community expects and deserves. We appreciate your understanding and support of our studio and affected team members." ]
