Playtonic, the creators of Yooka-Laylee, is laying off some of its staff, the developer and publisher announced on social media. The post doesn't mention how many members of Playtonic will be effected, but does credit the layoffs to the company's struggle with "a period of profound change in how games are created and funded." Based on a LinkedIn post shared by Playtonic brand manager Anni Valkama, the layoffs include staff members who worked in production, various art departments, game design, narrative design and UI/UX design. Playtonic only lists around 50 staff members on LinkedIn, but given the studios growth into a publisher and its upcoming release of Yooka-Replaylee, its possible the actual team is a bit larger. pic.twitter.com/A8th7spU3n— Playtonic - CATTLE COUNTRY OUT NOW! (@PlaytonicGames) May 30, 2025 While Playtonic likely isn't safe from the problems of funding and selling games that other developers have, hiring up for a new project like Yooka-Replaylee and then laying those new hires off before the game is released is a fairly common practice. There's no way to know if that's the case here without more information, but it's worth stating. Yooka-Laylee was pitched as a spiritual sequel to Banjo-Kazooie and other character-focused action-platformers when it debuted on Kickstarter in 2015, perhaps unsurprising given that Playtonic was founded by former developers from Rare, the creators of Banjo-Kazooie and newer hits like Sea of Thieves. In fact, many of the games Playtonic has published under its "Playtonic Friends" publishing label fall in that Rare sweet spot, whether its the cute action-adventure game Lil Gator Game or the difficult platformer Demon Turf.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/yooka-laylee-developer-playtonic-is-laying-off-over-a-dozen-staff-211759308.html?src=rss

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