Phoenix Labs, the maker of Dauntless and Fae Farm, has laid off a majority of its employees two years after it was quietly acquired by blockchain gaming agency Forte.
The layoffs got here a month after releasing an unpopular replace for Dauntless on Steam, and simply earlier than one other sport was set to enter early entry, based on feedback from workers laid off on social media.
In a put up on Bluesky and LinkedIn, Phoenix Labs introduced that it was “one other troublesome day at Phoenix Labs. It mentioned the corporate made the “powerful determination to half methods with the vast majority of the studio as a part of unlucky however mandatory modifications to our operations.”
The corporate mentioned it appreciated the contributions of the folks impacted, and it’ll share extra particulars within the coming weeks about what it means for Dauntless and Fae Farm.
Dauntless is a free-to-play reside service sport, whereas Fae Farm is a premium sport with on-line multiplayer. Sport Developer reported on turmoil on the studio after Forte Labs acquired it quietly in 2023, with out asserting the change in possession.
The Awakening replace for Dauntless was criticized by gamers for its new in-app monetization and the lack of earlier development. The sport now has overwhelming detrimental opinions on Steam. Phoenix Labs was beforehand owned by Singapore’s Garena, writer of Free Hearth and a subsidiary of Sea Ltd. Garena divested the corporate in 2023, and Phoenix Labs had beforehand laid off 160 folks after the Forte deal.
