Dozens of staff laid off at Inflexion as part of restructuring
Update: Sources claim over 50 people were made redundant
Update, November 5, 2024: Several sources close to the matter have told GamesIndustry.biz that the Inflexion layoffs have impacted over 50 people, as the company had to inform the Canadian government of the redundancy round. There are reportedly around 58 employees left at the company, not including support staff, with the layoffs affecting most teams across the studio, including QA, concept art, and narrative, with some teams reportedly wiped out entirely.
Sources also told us that Inflexion allegedly said that full severance for staff laid off would be withheld unless they sign an agreement that that can't say anything derogatory about the company. We asked the company for a comment on the situation, and a spokesperson provided the following statement:
"Our affected team members have received the notice they are entitled to based on their individual employment agreements. Additional compensation was also offered to all those individuals. As is common practice in Canada, this additional compensation comes with some standard requirements, which include agreeing to maintain confidentiality and returning company equipment.
"This is an unfortunate situation for any company to be facing and is a sad and stressful time for everyone involved. To further support impacted team members, all affected employees will continue to receive their healthcare benefits through the end of November, and we have proactively enrolled all those involved in an employee assistance program to offer further support to them through this difficult time."
Update: As clarified in a recent Linkedin post, Inflexion has laid off 65 employees over the last month, a spokesperson further clarified.
Original story, October 30, 2024: Nightingale developer Inflexion Games is undergoing a restructuring and letting go dozens of employees as a result of the move.
In a statement sent to GamesIndustry.biz, the company highlighted how the industry has been "undergoing a period of significant transition," and how it's "felt the impact of these broader trends."
GamesIndustry.biz also understands that Nightingale's Early Access wasn't commercially successful enough to continue development at the studio's current size.
"After exploring numerous options, we made the difficult decision to restructure our studio to ensure our long-term sustainability," the statement read. "Sadly this means saying goodbye to a number of incredibly talented and dedicated team members.
It added: "Our focus throughout this process has been to handle it with compassion, respect, and care for every individual affected. We are doing everything we can to help them navigate this period and find new opportunities."
An Inflexion staff member who wished to remain anonymous separately told GamesIndustry.biz that the number of employees potentially impacted by the layoffs is reportedly at least 22 people based on internal communications they've had access to.
The news comes after Inflexion Games shut down its UK division last week.
The Edmonton-based developer was founded by former BioWare general manager Aaryn Flynn in 2018 as part of Improbable.
The latter sold the studio to Tencent back in 2022, with Flynn telling us back in February that, since the acquisition, the company had been "nothing but gracious and supportive and aligned on the belief and recognition that [Inflexion] wants to be successful with Nightingale and then build and grow and evolve from there."