Scavengers Studio employees report "massive layoffs" affecting dozens of devs
Scavengers Studio, an indie team behind Season: A Letter to the Future, has reportedly been hit with layoffs. It seems that the job cuts affected most of the studio’s employees.
- Although Scavengers Studio didn’t announce the layoffs, the information came from some employees on their LinkedIn profiles (spotted by Game Developer).
- For example, 3D artist Mathieu Sauve Leroux wrote that the company “underwent massive layoffs, and most of my colleagues and I are currently without work.”
- “Season was my first experience in the game industry, and i’m really grateful to be part of that, and that some people trusted me,” VFX artist Charles Beville said. “Unfortunately it’s the end of this road for me, maybe start of another.”
- It is unclear how many people were affected by the layoffs, but Scavengers Studio employed at least 45 people prior to the cuts (via its LinkedIn page).
Founded in 2015, Scavengers Studio is a Montreal-based game developer that first rose to light with the launch of free-to-play online shooter The Darwin Project. Content support for the title eventually ended in 2020.
The studio’s second game, narrative-driven adventure Season: A Letter to the Future, came out in January 2023. It received generally positive reviews from critics and players, but it is unclear whether the title was commercially successful.
It is also worth noting that in 2021, Scavengers co-founder Simon Darveau was forced to temporarily leave the studio following accusations of misconduct and toxic behavior. CEO Amelie LaMarche also departed the company during the investigation, but the pair later returned to the team (Darveau was put into a non-managerial position).
