Thunderful announces more layoffs after missing revenue targets

Developer and publisher behind popular SteamWorld series, thunderoushas announced a restructuring program that will result in a number of redundancies within the company. Unfortunately for all involved, this is the second occurrence of a similar event during the year. Thunderful Group, a Swedish video game company founded in December 2019, is responsible for publishing titles such as Steam World Heist 2, Gunkand Lost in randomness.

The gaming industry as a whole has been dealing with constant layoffs throughout 2024, and it seems no one is immune. Microsoft has announced job cuts at its Xbox gaming division in September 2024. Original Life is strange studio Don't Nod was hit with layoffs in October 2024. Companies large and small alike have been forced to adjust the size of their workforce in an effort to keep their doors open. Some developers, e.g ConcordFirewalk Studios was completely closed.

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As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, Thunderful has announced another restructuring program that will result in even more layoffs for the company. It will be the developer's second such program in 2024, the first of which led to the layoff of 20% of its workforce. Despite generally favorable reviews for Steam World Heist 2Thunderful failed to meet its internal revenue targets. The current restructuring is expected to make up to 100 employees redundant in and outside of Sweden. This change will also affect employees in administrative and management positions.

Thunderful intends to focus on third-party publishing

The unfortunate turn of events appears to be in the name of promoting the company's future growth and stability. Thunderful CEO Martin Walfisz explained that “the strategic shift towards publishing games from external partners allows us to reduce fixed costs, increase flexibility and better control cash flow.” With so much change in such a relatively short time, it's hard for fans to predict what's to come onward for Thunderful. It remains to be seen how this restructuring might affect the publisher's upcoming games Headhunter on SteamWorld or the teams developing such titles.

While layoffs certainly plagued the industry in 2024, the situation was just as dire in 2023. The juxtaposition of successful big game releases and mass layoffs left many feeling uneasy. At the Game Developers Conference in 2024 Baldur's Gate 3 Director Swen Vincke blamed the job cuts on corporate greed. Regardless of the reason, the gaming industry saw more than 13,000 job losses in 2024 alone.

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Franchise

Steamworld

Released

August 8, 2024

Developers

Thunderous development

Publishers

Thunderful Publishing

Engine

incredible engine 5

ESRB

E10+ for everyone 10+ for fantasy violence

Steam Deck compatibility

Yes

OpenCritic rating

Strong

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