The publisher is likely to go out of business, which is yet another blow for independent game developers and players.
Reportedly, Humble Games has terminated the employment of all 36 of its employees, a move that appears to be a hint that the firm is coming to an end. Ex-employees took to social media to share their information regarding the layoffs. A media company known as Ziff Davis, which also owns IGN, Eurogamer, and GamesIndustry.biz, is the owner of Humble Games. Ziff Davis also owns other gaming-related publishers. In a post on LinkedIn, Humble Games revealed that there had been a “restructure” at the company, but they did not provide the information regarding the number of jobs that were eliminated.
One of the most recent examples of a widespread trend in the game industry is the recent layoffs at Humble Bundle. There was a shockingly high number of layoffs across all sizes of studios in the previous year, and unfortunately, this trend has persisted into the year 2024.
“The games industry is volatile, it’s been inundated by people who only want exponential growth at the expense of making great games with great teams,” Emilee Kieffer, a former lead quality assurance analyst with Humble Games, said on LinkedIn after the layoffs. “The games industry has been inundated with people who only want to accelerate exponential growth.”
Well friends, me and the entirety of Humble Games was laid off this morning
— 🎃Emil-EEK!🎃 (@Emilee3D) July 23, 2024
If you need senior/lead QA at your game studio HI HELLO I DON'T HAVE A JOB ANYMOOOORE! pic.twitter.com/giAPAiTDsx
Slay the Spire, Unpacking, Wandersong, and Coral Island are just few of the prominent video games that were brought to market with the assistance of the independent publisher. These games were among the successful ones. There were also a number of planned games that were scheduled to be released by Humble Games. One of these games was Never Alone 2, which was a second exploration into the myths and stories of the indigenous Iñupiat people who lived in Alaska. At this point, it is not apparent how the closure will affect those projects; nevertheless, it appears that they may still be released for public consumption.
“This decision was not made lightly; it involved much deliberation and careful thought, with the goal of ensuring the stability and support of our developers and ongoing projects,” according to Humble’s official statement. There was no confirmation from the company regarding whether or not these layoffs would be followed by the closing of the studio.
The charity storefront Humble Bundle, which is also a part of Ziff Davis but does not appear to be affected by the news that was reported today, is not the same as this firm, which is a separate operation. A request for additional information has been sent to Ziff Davis and Humble Games, and we will provide an update if we receive a response.