The studio founded by ex-Avalanche Studios COO and co-founder Christofer Sundberg, Liquid Swords, is getting hit by layoffs. Announced through a post on its official website, the layoffs were made in an effort to “scale back operations”.
In the post, the studio describes the layoffs as being intended to ensure the long-term sustainability of Liquid Swords. Development on its first untitled game, however, is still in progress.
“I promised our employees and shareholders success and to build a studio redefining game development with a small, expert-driven team and a sustainable work model,” wrote Sundberg in a statement.
“While we achieved much of this, shifting market conditions prevented us from succeeding within our timeframe. As a result, we must part ways with talented individuals who have been instrumental in our journey. This is incredibly difficult, but we remain committed to our vision and will continue to work on our IP and first game with a dedicated team.”
The announcement by Liquid Swords doesn’t include details about how many of its employees will be affected by these layoffs, and what departments of the studios will be affected. However, it does say that the studio remains focused on a vision of simplifying the game development process.
While the game Liquid Swords has been working on is still untitled, the studio did give us a glimpse at what it would look like through a pair of screenshots back in October. The screenshots indicate that it will be an open-world game featuring some sort of contemporary setting. The fidelity of the two screenshots was also impressively high. Liquid Studios has stated in the past that its first game will be a narrative-driven title.
Liquid Swords is still a relatively new studio, having been founded back in 2020. Based in Sweden, the studio’s development team includes veterans of the industry, including developers that have previously worked on franchises like Battlefield, Minecraft, PayDay, Grand Theft Auto, and Just Cause.
