Earlier today, we asked the Chronicles of Elyria team for a statement regarding a tip we’d received about layoffs and salary cutbacks at Soulbound, and presumably in response, the studio has published a fresh letter to the community addressing some of the rumors. Turns out they’re true, and the studio has indeed suffered a round of layoffs.
Jeromy “Caspian” Walsh explains that over the course of the last year, his team had “nearly doubled” in size, but that size was unsustainable, as the company was hoping to have secured a publisher or additional investment but hasn’t yet done so, necessitating the staff reduction.
“As a result of our change in focus, we adjusted our resources accordingly so as to be sustainable solely through sales from our online store,” he says. “Unfortunately this meant parting ways with a few of our team members. This was painful for all of us as we had developed a close bond with everyone in the studio, but it was a necessary action to move forward at the velocity and cost we need to succeed.”
The company did not address the claims that salaries for remaining employees had been slashed.
Soulbound has previously discussed its frustration over the game’s search for a publisher. Walsh reiterates that sentiment in the community letter tonight, noting that publishers seem “disinclined to take the risk on an innovative game such as Chronicles of Elyria without changing [the] intended vision” with things like “micro-transactions, loot crates, or other features that prioritize revenue over player experience.”
Our sympathies go out to those affected by the cutbacks.
