Planet Coaster and F1 Manager studio announces round of layoffs

Frontier Developments, the British studio responsible for games including Planet Coaster, Planet Zoo, and F1 Manager, has announced a round of layoffs. This decision has been notified to the investors, as reported by Games Industry. The company is to undergo an organizational review with the ultimate goal of becoming profitable which will entail reductions in annual expenses, leading to employee layoffs. The current number of employees affected by these layoffs is yet unknown. Moreover, Frontier will temporarily suspend new employee recruitment, projections stating that this restructuring will extend into early 2024.

The company stated that most of its games are performing as expected. Nevertheless, the disappointing sales of F1 Manager 2022 and its sequel released this year have caused a depreciation in share value. Noticeably, this year witnesses a significant number of layoffs worldwide, particularly in the gaming industry. Previously important players like Naughty Dog, Team17, Epic Games, CD Projekt Red, Microsoft, Ubisoft, Bioware, Telltale, and Crystal Dynamics, have also announced layoffs. Affecting at least 25 Naughty Dog contractors, about 16% of Epic Games' staff (roughly 830 employees), 10% of CD Projekt Red, around 10,000 Microsoft employees, and several others at Ubisoft, Bioware, Telltale, and Crystal Dynamics.