Humble Games, the Ziff Davis/IGN-owned publishing company, is set to be “restructured” due to the current challenges of the economy. As part of this restructure, at least 36 employees have been laid off, with some reportedly told the company will be shutting down entirely.
Notably, Humble Games has recently released a number of games, including Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical and its Orpheus DLC, Rolling Hills, and Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus. It also has many games in its publishing pipeline, including On Your Tail, Billie Bust Up, Monaco 2, Totemic, and Wizard of Legend 2.
Currently, it’s unclear what the publisher’s incoming restructure will mean for these newly-released and upcoming titles, and whether Humble Games will continue to provide support.
In a statement, the publisher confirmed a significant restructure, while claiming the decision was “not made lightly” but was a necessary result of “these challenging economic times.”
Read: Bethesda employees have unionised to protect workplace rights
“We are acutely aware of the profound impact this decision has on our team members at Humble Games and deeply empathise with everyone affected,” Humble said. “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.”
What’s next for Humble Games?
As described, there will be a period of “transition” for Humble Games going forward, as the company works to reassure its development partners. It has committed to making the process “as smooth as possible for everyone involved,” but a firm pathway forward has not been outlined.
Per multiple laid off staff, the Humble Games team has been gutted, with the “entirety” of the team believed to have lost their jobs. While that suggests Humble Games will be shutting down entirely, Humble and its parent company have denied this is the case.
Rather, it appears the publishing duties of Humble Games will be reallocated or reimagined in some form. The organisation still has established publishing deals with a range of developers, and there’s hope it will still fulfil its obligations in that regard.
For now, the future of the publisher remains in question, and it’s unclear how it will proceed. We’re likely to hear much more about Humble Games in the coming weeks.
