Hero Wars maker Nexters lays off 235 employees to ‘optimize expenses’

Nexters has joined a handful of game companies conducting mass layoffs over the last few weeks. Almost a quarter of total staff have lost their jobs, with this situation affecting people located in Russia, Cyprus, Turkey, and other countries.

On June 29, Nexters co-founder and CEO Andrey Fadeev held a video meeting with the company’s employees, trying to explain the reasons behind this decision. Here are some key takeaways from his message:

• Fadeev cited “growing inflation in key markets, changes in user privacy and the advertising market, and recent geopolitical events” among the negative factors the company faced this year;
• Nexters had to optimize expenses and focus on its most critical business operations;
• The company has faced some growth problems after doubling its headcount last year to over 900 employees. So it made a decision to “take one step back” in terms of the team’s size;
• Layoffs affected people located in Russia, Cyprus, Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, and other countries;
• Nexters pledges to provide all laid-off employees with compensation equal to several months’ salary, psychological support, an extension of medical insurance, and relocation support;

“This difficult decision has been made only after careful consideration of the options available to Nexters in the current environment, but was determined necessary to secure the resiliency of the company, which will also require continued hard work, clear vision and full dedication from everyone in the team,” the statement reads.

Based in Limassol, Cyprus, Nexter reported bookings of $562 million last year (up 26% year-over-year). It started trading on the NASDAQ in 2021 and made its first M&A deal as a public company in January by acquiring three game development studios — Cubic Games, RJ Games, and Royal Ark — for $100 million.

Nexters is one of multiple game companies that have conducted mass layoffs over the last few weeks. According to a Forbes report, up to 2500 Russian developers have lost their jobs at studios like Plarium, MYTONA, Playgendary, Green Grey, and Game Insight. The latter laid off 600 people after the self-liquidation of its Russian entity.