Update: In a follow-up report from Aftermath’s Nathan Grayson, recordings taken at a meeting where Humble Games employees were informed of the layoffs along with statements from now-former staff seemingly contradict the company’s official stance on this being a “restructure.”
The report has found that all roles at Humble Games were in fact impacted, and that remaining publishing projects will be completed by The Powell Group, a third-party company.
“Ziff is trying to spread the idea that it’s a restructuring to save face, but that’s a lie,” said one staffer under anonymity. “No one from HG survived the layoffs, nor will they have anything to do with game launches moving forward.”
“Operations have been handed off to a third party consultancy. NO staff are left,” a former employee wrote on LinkedIn. “Do not believe this tailored message written by the parent company of Humble Games, Ziff Davis, who are trying to mitigate pushback. This was once again a failure of leadership across the board, and once again hard working talented staff are paying the cost for their poor decisions. Every ex-employee is being gaslit by this narrative, and it’s so disrespectful.”
Original Story: In another devastating blow to the state of the video game industry and in particular the indie scene, prolific IGN/Ziff Davis-owned indie publisher Humble Games has been gutted, with staff laid off and the future of the company unclear.
A Senior QA staffer for the company took to social media this morning to share that they and “the entirety” of Humble Games’ 36 staff had been laid off, with some reporting that staff have called it a “total closure” of Humble Games (not to be confused with Humble Bundle, the company it’s an offshoot of and which seems to be unaffected).
In the hours since though, Humble Games released a statement which suggests that it’s not being shut down completely but will see its operations “restructured” as it prioritises supporting its former staff through this transition as well as its current development partners – though the statement doesn’t clarify whether anyone actually still works at the company. The company just published Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus last week, and has some significant releases on the way including Never Alone 2, Billie Bust Up and Monaco 2.
In these challenging economic times for indie game publishing, Humble Games has made the difficult but necessary decision to restructure our operations. This decision was not made lightly; it involved much deliberation and careful thought, with the goal of ensuring the stability…
— Humble Games – B?: Path of the Teal Lotus OUT NOW (@PlayHumbleGames) July 23, 2024
“In these challenging economic times for indie game publishing, Humble Games has made the difficult but necessary decision to restructure our operations,” the company’s statement reads. “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. Additionally, the restructuring of operations at Humble Games will have no impact on operations at Humble Bundle.
“We are acutely aware of the profound impact this decision has on our team members at Humble Games and deeply empathize with everyone affected. Our team’s contributions have been world-class and invaluable, supporting the launch of our games since we started publishing in 2017. We are committed to navigating this transition with as much empathy and understanding as possible.
“Supporting our development partners and assisting former team members remains our top priority. We are committed to making this transition as smooth as possible for everyone involved. Thank you for your support and compassion during this challenging period. It is deeply appreciated.”
Humble Games has been responsible for helping to publish some of the most memorable indies of recent years, including more than a few Aussie-made efforts like Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical, Unpacking and Ring of Pain. It’s a huge shame to see it affected by the challenges in the space and we sincerely hope that those affected are able to land safely.
