Certain Affinity, a well-known game development company from Texas, recently laid off 25 employees, about 10% of its total workforce. The CEO, Max Hoberman, confirmed the news on the company’s website, mentioning that the layoffs mainly affected the business operations teams in the United States. It’s also the first time in the history of the studio that this has happened.
This announcement is the first time in Certain Affinity’s 17-year history that the studio has laid off employees. According to Hoberman, the layoffs are due to a slowdown in funding for new game projects and a decreased willingness from third-party investors to fund games or game companies. This tough environment has made it hard for Certain Affinity to find new work or funding alternatives.
Affected employees will be given severance pay and benefits continuation. They will also keep any vested awards from the company’s Stock Equity Plan, which could benefit them if Certain Affinity succeeds in the future. Hoberman thanked the team and recognized the unique nature of this event in the company’s history.
“Over the past 12 months the game industry has faced unprecedented challenges. We are no exception. Today we made the extremely difficult decision to inform 25 of our US-based employees that their jobs are being eliminated. This has the most impact on the teams running our business operations.”
Max Hoberman
For those who don’t know, this kind of severance is incredible. Pay and benefits continuation is good on its own, but stock is something that will pay off heavily in the future. Conversely, selling that stock you’ve just gotten gives you a huge boost monetarily today. It’s honestly one of the kindest things I’ve ever heard of a CEO doing.
Since starting in 2006, Certain Affinity has helped with the development of well-known games like Halo, Call of Duty, and Doom 2016. A Halo-themed battle royale project was recently canceled, and the studio is facing financial challenges, possibly due to struggles securing funding for an original first-person shooter project codenamed Project Loro.
The recent job cuts at Certain Affinity are just one example of a larger gaming industry trend. In the last year and a half, thousands of people in the industry have been let go. This shows the financial challenges and instability game studios, including well-known ones like Certain Affinity, can experience.
Comments