South Australian developer-publisher Mighty Kingdom has announced a 28% reduction in its workforce in a letter shared to social media this morning, joining a growing list of local companies grappling with layoffs and closures.
The letter, penned by Mighty Kingdom CEO David Yin, describes the move as part of the “toughest chapter in our story.” The impacted staff are part of a “strategic rightsizing” and “restructuring of roles,” with 3D artists, programmers, and QA workers among those affected.
“Today at Mighty Kingdom, we face the toughest chapter in our story,” the letter reads. “Since 2010, our passion has been crafting games with heart, touching over 50 million players worldwide with the creativity of our diverse team.”
“Last week Mighty Kingdom advised its people of a strategic rightsizing to streamline our operations and prioritise core business to align with our vision for the future. This has resulted in a restructuring of roles and a 28% reduction in our workforce,” the post continues. “This decision is made with heavy hearts and we never wanted to find ourselves in this position and we have exhausted all possible avenues to avert these changes.”
“We highly recommend each of the incredible professionals we’ve had to part ways with, they have contributed significantly to our success over the years. If you can assist or hire, please consider reaching out to them.”
“While today’s news is sombre, we remain steadfast in our commitment to our mission of creating delightful game experiences. We continue to support our current titles and eagerly anticipate the exciting developments we have planned in these and future games,” Mighty Kingdom CEO David Yin continues. “We are committed to moving forward with transparency and care for everyone involved – our team, players and partners.”
A spreadsheet shared alongside the letter includes the names and roles of some of the departing Mighty Kingdom team members looking for work in the wake of the layoffs.
The reduction in the Mighty Kingdom workforce comes after a particularly tumultuous year for the developer-publisher in the wake of legal threats, attempted shareholder takeovers, and staff threats of a mass walkout over proposed leadership changes.
Mighty Kingdom now joins League of Geeks, Blowfish Studios, and Torus Games as yet another Australian developer that has undergone layoffs (and in the case of some of these, complete closures) in recent months. Unfortunately, the game industry’s growing trend of job losses has well and truly hit local shores.
Our thoughts are with the impacted MK staff today. It’s another rough day for Aussie game devs, and a timely reminder to keep supporting local talent on projects big and small.
Image: Mighty Kingdom
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