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The gaming landscape of 2025 is starting off on a somber note, as three studios have announced their closures, leading to numerous layoffs. Among them, two are subsidiaries of Enad Global 7, which stated, “This decision was not made lightly and comes after various efforts to make the subsidiary profitable.”
The first casualty is Toadman Interactive, famed for titles like Immortal: Unchained and Bloodsports TV. Although not the primary developer, the studio contributed during the development of The Lord of the Rings Online and MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries. Enad Global 7 mentioned that the closure impacts all employees who do not hold contracts, although current employment agreements will be respected. Compounding the issue, 38 developers at Piranha Games are also set to lose their jobs due to the underwhelming performance of MechWarrior 5: Clans.
Another studio, Freejam, known for Robocraft 2 and CardLife, has also ceased operations. Future plans for its active games will come to an end over the next few weeks. The studio communicated via its Discord that it can no longer afford to maintain Robocraft 2 or any other titles, stating it has become too costly to “launch or sustain development.”
The final studio to close is Counterplay Games, recognized for developing Godfall, one of the launch titles for PlayStation 5. After collaborating with Jackalyptic on another project, an employee’s LinkedIn post revealed the disbandment of Counterplay Games, stating that they couldn’t continue their partnership into the new year.
These closures, while disheartening, haven’t come as a complete surprise. In the previous week, numerous announcements regarding layoffs surfaced, alongside updates from other studios toward the end of 2024. Recent years have been challenging for the gaming industry, resulting in widespread layoffs and studio shutdowns, affecting countless employees.
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