Dauntless Developer Suffers Second Round of Layoffs

After suffering layoffs earlier this year, Dauntless developer Phoenix Labs has announced another round of departures. Thirty-four employees have left the studio due to a change in the support team structure, per a representative speaking to GamesIndustry.

“After a rigorous review, we decided to change the structure of our support teams, and we have made the tough decision to reduce our workforce by 34 people across our publishing, HR, IT, and shared services teams. Our games teams were unaffected, and our work continues across our titles at Phoenix Labs. Fae Farm’s DLC and Dauntless updates are on track, and we have exciting unannounced projects in the works.

“We thank each of the affected team members who have helped to build Phoenix Labs into what it is today. Their impact will be missed and live on through everything the studio does moving forward.” Previous layoffs resulted in nine percent of the total workforce cut in May. Three of its co-founders also departed after the studio was acquired by Garena in January 2020.

Dauntless is available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Nintendo Switch. It’s a free-to-play Monster Hunter-style action RPG with over 25 million players as of 2021. Along with supporting its flagship title, Phoenix Labs also released Fae Farm, a four-player co-op fantasy farming sim with spells.

It will receive its first major update and DLC, Coasts of Croakia, on December 14th. This adds a new realm, encounters and other content. Stay tuned for more details en route to its release.