On Friday, Gearbox-owned Lost Boys Interactive was the latest to be hit by layoffs in the video game industry. The developer employed over 400 people and while the scope of the layoffs remains unclear, former employees are taking to LinkedIn and are saying that a “sizable” portion of the company was let go and are describing what happened today as “massive” layoffs.
Founded in 2017, Lost Boys Interactive has been involved in the development of games such as Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Diablo IV, Borderlands 3, and The Quiet Man. In 2022, they were acquired by Gearbox, at which point boasted a headcount of over 220. Gearbox doubled the size of Lost Boys’ prior to the layoffs.
This is the latest in the restructuring program of Embracer, the umbrella company that owns Borderlands developer Gearbox following a fallout on a potential $2 billion deal with a Saudi investment group that fell through last year.
Former employees of Lost Boys Interactive have taken to LinkedIn to share and talk about the news. Former Producer at Lost Boys Interactive, Jared Pace told Aftermath that layoffs “affected all disciplines at all levels.”
A spokesperson for Lost Boys Interactive confirmed the layoffs to Eurogamer. “Lost Boys Interactive made the difficult decision to restructure our studio to ensure we can succeed in spite of headwinds facing the industry right now,” reads the statement. “Unfortunately, this does mean we will separate from some of our team members and we’re working closely with those affected. We know this is a hard time for this talented and experienced group of people and will provide support and assistance through this transition to those leaving.”
Lost Boys Interactive is the latest company to have layoffs in the video game industry this year. Since the start of the year, Unity, Twitch, and Discord also announced layoffs.