Jeff Strain’s Crop Circle Games is the latest studio to shut down, following an initial round of layoffs and furloughs last month. The closure, from owner Prytania, also founded by Strain and his wife, comes amid allegations of no severance and other moves to limit employee rights.
Coming via a report from Game Developer, Prytania Media is accused of waiting until after GDC to let everyone know that their employment had been terminated and the studio would be shut down. The timing prevented those who could’ve made it to have networked at a big industry event. Many employees were furloughed last month, along with some who were laid off then.
Designer Jennifer Klasing alleged that
“They are also requiring that we sign away our right to compensation from any NLRB or DLR action in exchange for an extra 2 months of healthcare.
Healthcare that we know they already paid for.”
Prytania Media was founded back in 2021 by Jeff Strain and Annie Delisi Strain. They have opened a number of studios, including Crop Circle, Possibility Space, Fang & Claw, and Dawon Entertainment. Crop Circle was announced back in 2022, and never confirmed what they were working on.
Jeff Strain also apparently deleted his LinkedIn account, as Klasing also noted:
“I'd ping Jeff here but he deleted his linkedin account. ??”
Others in the comments wondered if those affected had spoken to a lawyer about the circumstances under which they were let go, and Klasing confirmed that there have been some talks.
Several years ago, Strain was lauded for comments he made in support of game industry unionization amid now-settled Activision-Blizzard hostile workplace accusations.
