Daybreak Game Company lays off staff

H1Z1 developer Daybreak Game Company has seemingly laid off a number of employees today, according to reports across social media.

A number of developers and others on Twitter have tweeted about the layoffs today, with former Daybreak Games president John Smedley among them. Smedley indicated in one tweet that the studio had eliminated 70 positions, roughly estimating this to be about 30% of the studio.

MMOBomb received a statement from Daybreak Games confirming the layoffs, though not the number effected:

"We are optimizing our structure to ensure we best position ourselves for continued success in the years to come," the statement reads. "This effort has required us to make some changes within the organization and we are doing everything we can to support those impacted in this difficult time. As we look to improve efficiencies and realign resources, we remain focused on supporting our existing games and development of our future titles."

Earlier this year, Daybreak underwent a bit of a shuffle surrounding one of its best-known properties, H1Z1. In August, the studio announced it would shut down the original version of the game, Just Survive, due to "untenable" low user population.

The following month, Culver City-based company Nantworks made a strategic investment in Daybreak and created a new joint publishing division called NantG Mobile. The new division announced its intention to publish mobile versions of both H1Z1 and Everquest, work on new titles, and take control of H1Z1's PC battle royale mode.

GamesIndustry.biz has reached out to Daybreak Games for comment.