Team 17, the UK-based game developer best known for the many games in its Worms franchise, along with its indie publishing arm, is facing mass layoffs that could eventually affect 50 of its team members
VG247 has already confirmed, via a statement from a Team 17 spokesperson, that "we have amicably parted ways" with its CEO Michael Pattison, who joined the company in October 2021. The same statement also confirmed that it has "sadly entered into a period of consultation today within Team17 Digital".
Under UK labor laws, companies who plan to launch mass layoffs must enter "a period of consultation" before anything final is determined. That is expected to happen sometime in November.
Eurogamer reports that the layoffs will likely affect a large portion of Team 17"s QA department. It states that the company is planning to use third-party QA companies instead. Other employees from different departments could also be affected by the layoffs.
This is actually the second time in 2023 that Team 17 has been hit with layoffs, as many team members were let go in March as part of what the company called "a re-alignment". Today"s changes seem to be more serious, particularly as its CEO has also departed.
It"s been a bad last few days in the UK game industry. Last week, Sega announced that it had canceled plans to release Hyenas, the sci-fi multiplayer shooter from the UK-based Creative Assembly. The move could lead to some layoffs at the developer in the future.
Also, Epic Games announced a major layoff affecting over 800 team members last week. UK-based Mediatonic, the creators of Fall Guys, which Epic acquired in 2021, was said to be especially hit hard by the layoffs. However, the studio itself will remain open and will continue to support Fall Guys, according to the developer.