Six Foot lays off one third of development staff
Flagship game Dreadnought hampered by delays, slow sales, and mixed reviews
Texas-based entertainment firm Six Foot has laid off around a third of its development staff following a number of issues with its flagship game, Dreadnought.
Made in collaboration with Spec Ops: The Line developer Yager, Dreadnought released on Steam just last week but delays, slow sales, and mixed reviews have resulted in financial difficulties.
In a statement issued to Game Informer, Six Foot group COO and game division head Christian Svensson confirmed the layoffs.
"We're continuing to make available the full resources of our company to try to help those affected and their families land on their feet as quickly as possible," he said.
"We remain committed to Dreadnought's ongoing development, growth, and the pursuit of new projects.
"We are also dedicated to remaining active in helping our affected family to transition as smoothly as possible."
Six Foot reportedly informed employees of "potential major changes" to the company structure back in August; development staff were given the opportunity to continue working or "begin searching for other opportunities with the full support of the company, while still receiving pay in the interim".
Following the layoff announcement over the weekend, staff were offered the option of taking unpaid leave and returning in the event that Dreadnought became successful enough support everyone, or taking severance.
One anonymous source told Game Informer that staff costs ran at $80,000 a day, and that Dreadnought was making less than $20,000 a day.
Dreadnought is Six Foot Games' first title as lead developer, having previously published Rime and Grey Goo. It first released on PlayStation 4 in December last year before being ported over to PC.
The Six Foot group also operates interests in investment and business incubation, technology solutions, staffing, branding, and marketing among others.
UPDATE: A spokesperson for Six Foot told GamesIndustry.biz that 45 people have been affected by the layoffs.
"Six Foot Staffing is actively working with them to help find new opportunities," he added.