Others are “in jeopardy” of losing employment
- by Alana Hagues
A small number of employees at the UK-based studio Playtonic, recognized for developing Yooka-Laylee and establishing the indie publishing label Playtonic Friends, are conveying messages through social media as they have been declared “redundant” by the developer.
Our attention was drawn to this news by a Bluesky post from the previous community manager Steve James, who parted ways with the company just two weeks ago (by his own decision).
“This should be a week filled with joy and positivity for me, but instead I feel sad, frustrated, and concerned for my former coworkers.” Steve remarks. “Numerous skilled individuals are “in jeopardy” of redundancy at Playtonic; if you see them seeking employment, please assist them.”
On LinkedIn, Steve along with the current brand manager at Playtonic, Anni Valkama, have been sharing updates from former colleagues now in pursuit of job opportunities.
These include Junior VFX Artist Joupin Ahmed and Assistant Producer Mae Davidson. Additionally, UI Artist James Feakins is “in jeopardy of redundancy.” We hope those impacted find new opportunities swiftly and wish them all the best.
Playtonic Friends is preparing to launch Castle Pixel’s Cattle Country, a Western lifestyle/farm simulation. On the primary development side, it is also engaged in remaking its inaugural game, named Yooka-Replaylee, which is set to arrive on Switch 2.
Regrettably, circumstances are not improving as layoffs persistently afflict the industry, with EA and Respawn recently experiencing significant layoffs. The long-established online publication Polygon was also affected by redundancies after being sold by Vox Media to Valnet. Unfortunately, these are merely a couple of recent instances.
We have reached out to Playtonic’s Managing Director Gavin Price for further remarks.
[source bsky.app]
Alana has been with Nintendo Life since 2022, and while RPGs are her primary passion, Nintendo holds a close second place. She takes pleasure in meticulously analyzing battle strategies, characters, and narratives. She also dreams of being a Sega air pirate.
