Following the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance, it looks like the latter is now getting ready to cut down on some of its costs by laying off employees. According to a report by Vertical Slice, the company has begun the process of letting go of many of its employees across its video games division.
Among those affected by the layoffs is now-former associate design director David Ballard, who confirmed that his job had been cut through a LinkedIn post, where he revealed that “several” of his coworkers had also been affected by the layoffs.
“My chapter with Skydance and Paramount came to an end today with a layoff. I’m super grateful for the opportunities I was given the past almost 4.5 years. A shipped title, several awards, 2 promotions, an incredible team, and an unbelievable amount of creativity and collaboration. What a ride!
“That said, it’s a sad day for several of my coworkers who were also affected. If any former Skydance Interactive folks come your way, they are some of the best people I’ve had the privilege of working with, and I can only recommend you give them a shot to show you what they’re made of.”
David Vera, who worked as a lead engineer at Paramount Games, has also confirmed that he has been hit by the layoffs. Along with this, he mentioned 25 other workers who had been affected, including Kevin Lee, Rachel Li, Donald Sielke, and Ballard.
“Skydance just lost a ton of great talent yesterday. I was not affected this time, but so many passionate, hard-working, talented individuals are now competing with thousands of others trying to get their next gig,” he wrote in his LinkedIn post.
Rebecca Vessal, who worked at Skydance Interactive as a senior gameplay and game AI programmer, has also confirmed that most of her team had been hit by these layoffs.
“Most of my game team at Skydance Interactive got laid off today. I’m not impacted by the layoff, but I’m definitely processing my emotions today. They are good peeps to work with, and I would work with them again in a heartbeat. Please consider them for any open roles you have at your game dev company. If any of my former coworkers see this, please let me know how I can help.”
These mass layoffs come in light of Paramount Skydance essentially unifying the games divisions of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. The state of several projects that have likely been in development currently remains unknown. However, a recent report has confirmed that the company will continue its development of Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, as well as an untitled Star Wars game. Both titles have Amy Hennig at the helm. Hennig is known for her work on franchises like Uncharted and Legacy of Kain.
The new leadership at Skydance Interactive includes Tony Driscoll as president, Dan Prigg as executive vice president, Shawn Kittelson as head of creative and senior vice president, and Andreas Silvers as senior vice president of marketing and communications.
