The mobile gaming company behind pokemon go, Niantic is struggling to find her next big hit. And now, a new report claims that the studio has canceled several projects and laid off employees in an effort to “simplify” operations.
The San Francisco-based publisher is cutting 85 to 90 jobs and canceling four games in development, including transformers Spin-off announced last year called heavy metal, according to Bloomberg Report published todayAnd the Bloomberg It also reported that CEO John Hankee was sent an email to employees saying that the company was “facing a time of economic turmoil” and that after previous cost-cutting efforts, Niantic still needed to “further streamline our operations in order to better position the company to stay ahead of the curve.” The face of any economic storms that may lie ahead.”
Other games that have reportedly been canceled include villageIt is a planned collaboration between Niantic and Theatre drunk punchAnd the the sky is blue And the snowballbut it is unclear whether these are schematic addresses or internal symbolic names.
Niantic had a huge success in 2016 powered Pokemon Go, but still not able to repeat this success. In 2019, the studio released Harry Potter: Wizards Unitebut did not find a large audience and It was finally closed earlier this year. Other games based on picmin And the Kattan They also failed to set the world on fire.
Read more: Niantic set the world. Now they are planning for you
In a statement sent to KotakuA Niantic spokesperson confirmed the news of the layoffs and indicated that it intends to continue supporting Pokemon Go games and other projects.
“We have recently decided to stop production on some projects and reduce our workforce by about eight percent to focus on our main priorities,” Niantic said. “We are grateful for the contributions of those who left Niantic, and we support them during this difficult transition.
The company also said Kotaku That the move would allow the company to focus more on “new experiences” and that it “will continue to invest in the future of augmented reality.”
While it is true that Niantic will continue to invest in new games—The company just announced a new project with the NBA after allIt is unlikely that those laid off will find comfort in this fact. I can’t imagine watching your company Keep making billions of dollars In one game while laying off employees is a good way to boost morale.
