Gameloft Brisbane Lays Off 15 Employees Just Before Christmas

Staff at one of the biggest game publishers left in Australia have just been delivered the worst pre-Christmas news, with Gameloft Brisbane laying off 15 employees earlier this week.

The layoffs happened earlier this week, Kotaku Australia understands, with multiple sources confirming the layoffs with the studio. The Australian chapter of Game Workers Unite, the representative organisation for game developers and games industry workers, said they were “deeply concerned”. Kotaku Australia reached out multiple times to Gameloft locally, but the studio did not respond prior to publication.

“GWU Australia is deeply concerned by these layoffs and particularly that they have occurred so close to Christmas,” GWU Australia told Kotaku Australia. “We are attempting to speak to some of the people affected and would urge anyone with more information, or who wants to have a confidential discussion about their rights and entitlements, to contact us immediately.”

The figure is a substantial chunk of the studio, with unofficial figures compiled by the local games industry putting Gameloft Brisbane’s headcount at 58 full-time equivalent employees. The layoffs would mean that around a quarter of the studio is now seeking work just a month before Christmas, although Kotaku Australia has not been able to independently verify how many still remain at Gameloft Brisbane.

Gameloft Brisbane’s most recent project was Ballistic Baseball, a competitive mobile baseball game which launched on Apple Arcade on September 19.

If you are one of the developers affected, or know someone who is, please get in touch.