Enad Global 7 Restructures Operations: Shuttering Toadman and Streamlining Piranha Games
Image courtesy of Piranha Games/Enad Global 7.
Swedish parent company Enad Global 7 has reorganized two of its divisions, Toadman Interactive and Piranha Games. The company intends to “cease operations” at the joint studio and let go of 38 employees at Piranha, known for developing titles such as MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries and MechWarrior 5: Clans.
In its Piranha announcement, Enad’s CEO Ji Ham disclosed that Clans performed “below expectations,” and explained that the layoffs would “ensure [the studio] continues to function with sustainable profitability while being able to deliver new content as planned.”
“The team at Piranha truly produced a high-caliber game that surpassed both internal and external expectations,” he continued. “Despite the outstanding efforts by the Piranha team, the game did not manage to attract new players or expand its core audience as predicted, thus it has not achieved the required sales targets, leading us to take necessary measures.”
One level designer, Julian Disterheft, indicated that this was Piranha’s second round of layoffs following the release of Clans’ last October. In his post, he asserted that sales for that title “simply weren’t sufficient to maintain the studio at its current size. It’s a money in, money out situation, and the revenue just wasn’t coming in.”
“Thank you to Piranha for the opportunity,” he wrote. “And a big shout-out to the players of MechWarrior Online. Appreciate you all.”
Toadman was the latest project for Enad, originally established in 2013 as a contract studio. It rebranded in 2020 and assigned the Toadman name to one of its subsidiaries, which then served as a support developer for titles like Everquest, Planetside 2, and Warhammer Vermintide.
As for Enad, it gradually acquired companies such as Piranha, Daybreak Game Company (DC Universe Online), and Big Blue Bubble (Vitality Chord).
Last September, Toadman laid off approximately 100 contract and full-time employees after completing support work on Helldivers 2 and Dead Island 2.
The decision to eliminate Toadman “was not taken lightly,” stated Enad, emphasizing that it follows various cost-cutting efforts and attempts to make the studio “profitable.” By discontinuing its operations, Enad aims to better align “with [our] long-term goals.” A total of 69 employees will be let go, while the remaining 42 will focus on completing Toadman’s outstanding contractual projects with Daybreak and Cold Iron Studios.
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Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com
A native of Kansas City, MO, Justin Carter has contributed to several platforms including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. Besides writing for Game Developer, his work can also be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don’t ask him about how much gum he’s consumed, as the answer may be more than he’s willing to disclose.