Humble Games hit with mass layoffs as publisher faces 'restructure' [UPDATED]

Another round of layoffs has hit this week, and this time it’s the team at Humble Games taking the blow. Staff at the publisher have reported that nearly the entire team was cut, leaving 36 employees out a job. While that leaves Humble Games essentially unstaffed for the time being, the group has claimed it is not yet shutting down and known upcoming releases should not be affected.

Updated on July 23, 2024 @ 1:49 p.m. PT: The official statement from Humble Games has provided and included in the article.

Word of layoffs at Humble Games came out of employees at the group who were reportedly cut, including former Senior QA staff Emilee Kiefer. Other staff at the publisher have corroborated the reports, claiming that all of the 36 employees that were working under the Humble Games banner were let go this week. The layoffs were executed by Ziff Davis (owner of IGN and parent company to Humble Bundle and Humble Games as of 2017). In a statement of GamesIndustry.Biz, a Humble Games spokesperson described the layoffs as "restructuring," saying the group is not shutting down and upcoming games will not be affected.

The offical statement by Humble Games is as follows below:

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 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.

With these layoffs, Humble Games joins a number of groups under Ziff Davis that have suffered cuts. Back in May 2024, Ziff Davis acquired a number of media outlets, including GamesIndustry.Biz, VG247, and Rock Paper Shotgun, laying off longtime staff among the ranks of these long running sites, as reported by Aftermath.

It’s a massive shame as Humble Games was key in bringing a large collection of solid indie games to market. Fae Tactics was a stellar release in 2020, capturing the spirit of Final Fantasy Tactics and Disgaea in a charming new IP from EndlessFluff Games. Humble Games has continued to bring enjoyable titles to play such as Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical in 2023 and Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus in 2024.

It's hard to say what could have caused Humble Games to face layoffs, but it joins a number of further companies across the games industry facing budget cuts in 2024. Stay tuned as we continue to follow for further updates and details.