Splash Damage Studio Faces Redundancies After Company-Wide Consultation
▼ Summary
– Splash Damage has announced a consultation process that will result in significant redundancies across all roles at its Bromley studio.
– The studio was acquired by unnamed private equity investors in September, having previously been owned by Tencent after its purchase of Leyou in 2020.
– This follows earlier layoffs due to the cancellation of Transformers: Reactivate and comes amid broader industry cutbacks, including by Tencent and NetEase in Western markets.
– Splash Damage is known for multiplayer shooters like Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory and collaborations on titles such as Gears of War 5 and Gears of War Tactics.
– The redundancies represent another blow to London’s game development scene, following recent closures and job cuts at companies like Square Enix and Sony.
The renowned game development studio Splash Damage has initiated a company-wide consultation process that will result in a substantial number of redundancies. Based in Bromley, the studio informed its employees of the difficult decision today, with the news also being shared publicly on LinkedIn. A statement provided to GamesIndustry.biz confirmed that all roles within the studio are under review as part of necessary organizational changes. The company described this as an unfortunate but essential step to remain agile in a challenging and dynamic market, emphasizing its commitment to minimizing the impact on its workforce and exploring every possible avenue to retain talent and support affected individuals.
This development follows the studio’s acquisition by a group of unnamed private equity investors last September. At that time, it was announced that the existing leadership team would continue to manage operations. Previously, Splash Damage was under the ownership of the Chinese conglomerate Tencent, which gained control of the studio through its acquisition of Leyou in 2020. Leyou had originally purchased the studio from its founder, Paul Wedgwood, back in 2016.
This is not the first time Splash Damage has faced staff reductions. Earlier this year, layoffs occurred following the cancellation of the online action game Transformers: Reactivate, a title announced in 2022 but never publicly showcased. In 2023, the studio revealed it was developing an open-world survival game under the codename Project Astrid, a collaboration with popular streamers Christopher “Sacriel” Ball and Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek. The studio’s most recent shipped title was Outcasters, a multiplayer shooter created for Google’s now-defunct Stadia platform, which launched in 2020.
![Image of Splash Damage studio building] Splash Damage was one of the few large studios remaining in London.
This announcement deals another significant blow to the game development scene in London. It comes shortly after Square Enix implemented cutbacks to its Western operations, jeopardizing over 100 positions at the former Eidos studio. Additionally, Sony closed its own London studio in 2024.
Following the acquisition by Tencent, CEO Richard Jolly expressed immense optimism about the studio’s future direction. However, 2024 saw both Tencent and its Chinese rival NetEase scale back their Western expansion efforts, leading to a series of divestments and studio closures. Another Tencent-owned UK entity, Sumo Group, cut 15% of its workforce in 2024, followed by further job losses this past January, and sold its publishing label, Secret Mode, in March.
In an August statement to GamesIndustry.biz, Yong-yi Zhu, VP and head of business operations, strategy, and compliance at Tencent Games, indicated that while the company had no immediate plans to withdraw from Western studios, a reduction in investment in certain areas was likely, reflecting the current realities and dynamics of the industry.
Splash Damage has a storied history, founded in 2001 by a team that originally came together through the Quake modding community. The studio rose to prominence with the release of the free multiplayer title Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. It subsequently developed Enemy Territory: Quake Wars in 2007, Brink in 2011, and the free-to-play title Dirty Bomb in 2014. Specializing in multiplayer shooters and mode design, the studio was a frequent collaborator with Microsoft on projects including Gears of War 5, the remasters for Gears of War and Halo, and the well-received Gears Tactics in 2020.
(Source: Games Industry)
