Image: PlaytonicA handful of staff at UK-based studio Playtonic, best known for creating Yooka-Laylee and for forming the indie publishing label Playtonic Friends, are sharing messages on social media as they have been made "redundant" at the developer. We were first alerted to the news by a Bluesky post from former community manager Steve James, who left the company just two weeks ago (on his own terms). "Should be a week of happiness and positivity for me but instead I’m sad, angry and concerned for my former colleagues." Steve says "Many talented folks are “at risk” of redundancy at Playtonic, if you see them posting for jobs, please help them out." On LinkedIn, Steve along with current brand manager at Playtonic Anni Valkama have been sharing posts from former colleagues who are now looking for work. These include Junior VFX Artist Joupin Ahmed and Assistant Producer Mae Davidson. Alongside them, UI Artists James Feakins is "at risk of redundancy". We hope those affected land on their feet and wish them the best. Playtonic Friends is just lining up to release Castle Pixel's Cattle Country, a Western life/farm sim. On the main dev side, it's also working on a remake of its very first game, titled Yooka-Replaylee, which is coming to Switch 2. And, unfortunately, things aren't getting any easier as layoffs continue to pummel the industry, with EA and Respawn taking a huge blow just a few weeks ago. Long-standing online publication Polygon was also hit by layoffs after being sold by Vox Media to Valnet. Sadly, these are just a couple of recent examples. We've reached out to Playtonic's Managing Director Gavin Price for comment. Between 300 to 400 people have lost their job "IT IS coming in 2025" [source bsky.app] Related Games See Also Share:0 2 Alana has been with Nintendo Life since 2022, and while RPGs are her first love, Nintendo is a close second. She enjoys nothing more than overthinking battle strategies, characters, and stories. She also wishes she was a Sega air pirate. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Nintendo Unveils Diddy Kong's Brand New Design Cap's off The First Review For Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Is In A fantasy score? 12 Switch Games Are Getting Free Switch 2 Upgrades, Here's What You Can Expect Nintendo's free updates arrive next month Round Up: The First Impressions Of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Are In Here's what players are saying