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Mad Max And Just Cause 3 Developer Avalanche Studios Suffers Layoffs
With Just Cause 3 out in a few weeks and Mad Max complete and shipped, developer Avalanche Studios has suffered two rounds of layoffs. Job cuts began this summer in Stockholm after Mad Max was released.
Avalanche maintains two offices. The original location in Stockholm, Sweden, worked on Mad Max. The newer office in New York City is handling development of Just Cause 3.
"The transition between major projects is always challenging, especially for independent developers," a representative told us via email. "We have just completed one project and are currently wrapping up another. In starting up our new projects, we were not able to perfectly match the team sizes and skill sets of the previous ones, and we unfortunately had to let some talented developers go. 12 developers were given notice in New York. There was a similar number of notices given this summer in Stockholm, but right now we are in the process of rehiring some of those who left. We expect to keep hiring in the new year. This unfortunate event does not affect any of our current projects, and we're taking measures to avoid situations like this in the future."
The studio has also released the prehistoric survival game The Hunter: Primal this year. Note that this is not Avalanche Software, the studio at the center of Disney Infinity. The two companies are unrelated.
For more on the topic of rapid expansion by a small studio, we spoke with Avalanche about the exact topic when we featured Mad Max on our cover. At the time of the interview, Avalanche recognized the danger of spreading itself thin, but seemed confident in its abilities.
Our Take
Our thoughts are with those affected by the layoffs. It's a positive sign that some are being rehired, as it means there's another project in the works at Avalanche.
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