After launching Season: A Letter to the Future in January, Scavengers Studio has downsized and laid off over half its staff. The news circulated on LinkedIn and was noticed by GamesIndustry.biz.
Scavengers 3D artist Mathieu Sauve Leroux posted on Linkedin that his position along with “most of [his] colleagues” were eliminated. The news was then corroborated when Scavengers employees shared his post and and setting his status to “open to work.”
Since launching early this year, Season: A Letter to the Future, sold 60,000 copies which was confirmed by CEO Amélie Lamarche who had responded to GamesIndustry.
“While Season received critical acclaim, it did not meet our commercial expectations,” Lamarche’s email says. “Despite our efforts to boost sales through content updates and discounts, the game only sold 60,000 copies during its first five months, which falls far short of what the studio needs to survive.
“Given the current global economic context and Season’s financial results, we have been left with no choice but to make the difficult decision of downsizing the studio to a smaller, sustainable group of game developers. Unfortunately, this means parting ways with all but approximately 16 members of the Scavengers Studio team.
“We understand that there is no easy way to handle layoffs, and our primary concern is to ensure that those affected receive as much support as possible during this challenging transition. In addition to financial and psychological support, we will provide extended health coverage benefits and outplacement services to assist in finding new job opportunities within Montreal.”
In my review of Scavenger Studios latest game, I said: “Season: A Letter to the Future is unique, relaxing, beautiful, and thoughtful; more importantly, it has something to say. It accomplishes what it sets out to do and knows how to use its mechanics as a vehicle to reinforce its message. Overall, exploring this universe is satisfying if you connect with the concept and themes it addresses.”
Lamarche is working on announcing new endeavours for the studio with the goal of gameplay-driven games to bring people together.
