The culling of games industry employees continues through the beginning of this year: A list compiled by Kotaku that outlines the over 6,400 layoffs that have occurred across the industry so far has some additional sad news from our corner of gaming, as Daybreak Games’ DC Universe Online sub-studio Dimensional Ink has been hit by layoffs.
The specific number of affected employees isn’t known at the time of this writing [see end of article for update on this], but it appears to be impacting senior members of staff, with the studio’s narrative designer and art producer being among the first to confirm job cuts were happening. In addition, senior CM Theodore “Mepps” Stone has also lost his job at Dimensional Ink after 13 years of employment at SOE and Daybreak, though it’s not immediately clear whether he was part of the layoffs or he left his post.
The list of job cuts recounts a wide assortment of major and minor companies handing out pink slips, from Microsoft to Riot to Crop Circle Games, which confirms that around 50 people were let go according to an insider source. What’s more, the employees were furloughed instead of laid off because the studio reportedly couldn’t pay their severance.
I was just laid off as the Narrative Designer at DC Universe Online. It was a great run, including what was probably Kevin Conroy's last performance and a current episode-in-progress that I hope still lands well! Leads, support, or cat pics are all appreciated right now. Thanks!
— Lynnea Glasser (@lynneaglasser) February 10, 2024
“We can confirm that a small number of employees (less than 15) were recently transitioned in connection with an overall assessment and recalibration of our business,” Daybreak reps said. “While unfortunate, the video game industry presents many challenges that require us, like other companies, to periodically review and make adjustments to our workforce. We are offering severance and transition support to those affected and wish them the best in their future endeavors.”
