The video game industry continues to make massive cuts to its developers and studios. It feels as though, starting last year, there have been mass layoffs in every possible developer you can think of and unfortunately, it looks like the train isn’t going to be stopping any time soon. This time, developer Toys for Bob, a company which has a massive resume helping develop for such franchises as Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and Star Control have been the latest in a long list of companies with mass layoffs.
As reported above, Toys for Bob have laid off around 35 people out of their 80 person staff, which amounts to roughly 40% of their overall staff. As stated, this is just the latest in a long list of companies which have been mass releasing workers from their studios. One can only wonder what the reason for these layoffs is but signs point mostly to a downsizing of the video game industry as a whole, with even reputable and old studios like Toys for Bob, which have worked on many successful titles over the years, not exempt from being forced to fire workers.
This is especially tough for fans of the Crash Bandicoot series, Toys for Bob were one of the teams behind Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, but there hasn’t been any news for a new Crash game or even a new DLC for Crash Bandicoot 4, and with these layoffs it’s very likely that anything new from the IP won’t be hitting shelves any time soon, as least from Toys for Bob.
We can only hope those laid off from this studio, as well as the plethora of other studios which have likewise seen these releases, can find work within the industry. All signs point towards this trend continuing, however, and the downsizing of the video game industry will likely, unfortunately, continue.