Folks Can Fly Restructures Its Workforce, Letting Go of 120 Developers and Halting Current Projects
Narrated by the technique of Folks Can Fly/Square Enix.
Outriders developer Folks Can Fly is initiating layoffs and putting one of its game projects on hold.
In an announcement from the organization, CEO Sebastian Wojciechowski revealed they are “suspending or parting ways with” over 120 employees engaged on the undisclosed ‘Project Bifrost.’ The studio is also reorganizing some of its support teams and completely halting progress on ‘Project Victoria’ to “scale back our self-publishing strategy.”
According to Wojciechowski, “external market challenges persisted beyond our expectations… and we must adapt to the current situation.” He asserted Folks Can Fly’s confidence in its different projects but acknowledged that it needs to “adjust our plans according to our financial resources.”
Moving forward, he noted the studio is concentrating on a single target title and exploring new contract opportunities.
The turbulent year for Folks Can Fly
Victoria is the latest venture from the Polish developer to be sidelined. In late April, Folks Can Fly terminated ‘Project Dagger’ after reevaluating its development strategy. This resulted in a write-down of nearly $20 million in production expenses.
This is also the studio’s most recent wave of workforce reductions: they commenced 2024 by laying off over 30 developers from the Square Enix-backed ‘Project Gemini.’
Last year, Folks Can Fly announced it launched a studio in Montreal to enhance production on a triple-A project and struck a contract deal with Microsoft. Currently, the status of the latter (referred to as ‘Project Maverick’) remains uncertain, along with Gemini and Bifrost following these latest reductions.
Wojciechowski concluded the announcement by emphasizing the studio’s commitment to “approaching this moment with empathy and to ensure our team feels supported as we collaborate to create a more robust future.”
“In this challenging period, our commitment to excellence and creativity remains stronger than ever,” he stated. “To all those who appreciate what we create: we will not abandon our aspirations.”
About the Author
Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com
Hailing from Kansas City, MO, Justin Carter has contributed to a variety of platforms including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his work can also be found at io9 on Gizmodo. Do not inquire about how much gum he’s consumed, as the answer will be more than he’s willing to admit.