Work will continue on Book of Travels, albeit at a slower pace after developer Might and Delight announced directly that the team has seen significant layoffs, going from a team of 35 to 10. With the game in Early Access, in announcing the layoffs, they wanted to be transparent about the necessity of slowing down production.
The initial launch into Early Access did not meet the team’s financial goals for Book of Travels, and the decision to cut back was made in order to keep the studio up and running. The studio has been around for about 11 years and during that time they've had successes and ambitious project like this game, and these kind of cutbacks make sense in light of vowing to continue development. Yet, the announcement comes with stark honesty about what going down to about one-third of your former team size will do to development going forward.
“We have suffered a setback and as a result the production pace of coming content WILL be affected. We want to be transparent regarding that. However, we also want you to know that the team that remains is determined and hell bent on two things: surviving and bringing the best possible content to the game. “
The announcement comes after a quiet period for Book of Travels following the early access launch, and it seems to have been a difficult one behind the scenes. To try and help themselves stay afloat, the team plans to release the game’s soundtrack for sale soon and have added a donation style DLC to the Book of Travels Steam store. The “Cup of Kindness” item is on sale for$1.99 and will help fund development.
The announcement and transparency on these layoffs and slower development hit both a difficult and hopeful note. You can read the full announcement from the Might and Delight founders.
