Visual Concepts has been hit with a new round of layoffs. The Austin-based developer is best known for its long-running work on sports franchises for 2K Games.
Sources indicate that the layoffs have affected teams working on all Visual Concepts titles, including the recently announced WWE 2K24. While numbers are unknown, the cuts have affected the teams working on WWE 2K24, as well as 2K"s NBA 2K and LEGO sports franchises.
The decision also raises questions about how the development schedules of Visual Concepts" current projects may be affected. Visual Concepts" former art director, Brad Bowling, writes on LinkedIn;
The games industry bloodletting continues. Today Visual Concepts Austin laid off myself and a group of very talented developers. I have had a great time over the past couple of years working with some of the finest Game Devs in the industry. Over the past 23 years of making game art, I have seen some downturns but nothing like this.
Visual Concepts has developed the last several wrestling games, including WWE 2K22 and WWE 2K23. The next chapter of the series, WWE 2K24, is scheduled for release next spring and will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Wrestlemania.
This is not the first time Visual Concepts has cut staff. A smaller round of layoffs across several departments took place last September. 2K"s other internal studios have also felt the crunch, with layoffs last year at strategy developer Firaxis Games and the recent closure of 2K Silicon Valley before its first game.
The news adds to an ongoing wave of cutbacks in the video game industry as economic uncertainty grows. Publishers such as Ubisoft, Riot Games, and Gearbox have all recently cut jobs.
Microsoft has also initiated layoffs, cutting support for physical retail disks s for Xbox and cutting support positions at Activision Blizzard following its acquisition. The company is even said to have laid off Activision Blizzard"s esports division.