Halo And COD Support Dev Lays Off 25 People, Citing “Unprecedented Challenges”
Certain Affinity, an independent game developer known for assisting on mega-franchises like Call of Duty and Halo, has laid off a significant number of workers in just the latest example of mass layoffs in the video game industry.
In a blog post, CEO Max Hoberman said the video game industry has faced “unprecedented challenges” in the past 12 months, and Certain Affinity is not immune to those issues. In response, Certain Affinity is laying off 25 of its US-based workers. The majority of those impacted are on teams handling business operations, Hoberman said. Certain Affinity’s website said the company has about 250 employees, so 25 layoffs works out to around 10% of the company. That percentage might not be accurate given that Certain Affinity also operates in Canada, nor do we know when the website might have been updated last.
This was Certain Affinity’s first mass layoff in the company’s 17-year history. Explaining the cuts, Hoberman said the “most significant” element was the “industry-wide slowdown” of funding for the kind of work that Certain Affinity does, which includes co-development. Additionally, third-party investors are showing “reluctance” to fund games and game companies, and this has made it “exceptionally difficult to sign new work or secure other forms of funding.”