A total of 133 people were affected by the 21% employment reduction at Brazilian game company Wildlife Studios. This is the third year in a row that the firm has laid off employees, according to Game Developer. The business intends to keep funding new initiatives in spite of the layoffs.
On a statement given by the company;
“We thank those leaving for their contributions and we will be providing them assistance during this period of change. While we are focused on creating a smaller and more agile company, our investment in new games remains unaffected.”
Numerous obstacles have been plaguing the mobile gaming sector, such as heightened rivalry, shifting customer tastes, and the requirement for ongoing innovation. In reaction to these demands, Wildlife Studios has started a thorough organizational reorganization. Statements from corporate spokespeople indicate that the goal of this change is to focus on key development areas and core initiatives, hence creating a more agile organizational structure. The business guarantees that it will continue to make a substantial investment in the creation of new games even with the large personnel decrease.
Grievances of former employees
Many workers posted about the layoffs on LinkedIn before the mobile studio officially announced the news. Igor Mello Pontes, a former 3D artist at Wildlife Studios, said that “most of the organic growth team, including myself,” were affected by the job reductions.
Eight locations are home to the roughly 800 employees that make up Wildlife. With 60 published titles under its belt, the firm has downloaded over three billion copies to date, with hits like Bike Race, Tennis Clash, and Sniper 3D contributing to this success. The firm saw a round of layoffs in 2022 that affected about 300 workers, and in 2023 there was another 13% drop in the workforce.
Effect on Workers and Organizational Culture
Throughout Wildlife Studios, the layoffs have had an impact on several departments and resulted in the unemployment of numerous skilled workers. During this moment of transition, the corporation has promised to help people affected. Nonetheless, it is impossible to overstate the psychological and professional toll that these layoffs have on the company’s culture and staff morale. As businesses strike a balance between their aspirations for development and the reality of the market, this move also calls into question the viability of quick expansion tactics in the gaming sector.
Consequences for the Mobile Gaming Sector
The personnel decrease at Wildlife Studios is a reflection of a larger trend in the sector, where businesses are under pressure to swiftly adjust to shifting market conditions. This action might indicate a trend in the industry toward more conservative operational methods as businesses prioritize efficiency and core capabilities as a way to mitigate risk. The reorganization of Wildlife Studios might be used as a case study for the mobile gaming industry as a whole to navigate the issues of innovation, competition, and market saturation.
The consequences of Wildlife Studios’ personnel decrease will have an impact on workforce management techniques and industry practices even as the firm begins its new chapter. This incident emphasizes how crucial flexibility and strategic vision are in the quick-paced world of mobile gaming, where businesses need to constantly adapt to survive.
