Following Quantic Dream’s announcement of cancelling its 3v3 multiplayer title Spellcasters Chronicles and plans for an internal reorganization, according to Paris-based independent game workers union Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Video (STJV), the company will be laying off up to 95 of its employees. In its post, the union has called out the company for its poor planning for what was supposed to be a “reasonably-sized” project, leading to it taking 8 years to make it to its Early Access release.
STJV has also noted that there have been plenty of red flags about the project over the years, and said that management was overconfident about the potential success of Spellcasters Chronicles, citing “30 years of experience” of the leadership team.
“This project, started 8 years ago and led by Guillaume de Fondaumière, David Cage, and Grégorie Diaconu, was supposed to be a ‘reasonably-sized’ project and was planned for a much earlier release,” wrote the union. “Over all these years, nobody questioned the business model or how the game was to become profitable. Catastrophic project management resulted in iteration after iteration, exhausting the team and leading production straight to disaster.”
“It’s sad to say, nobody is surprised by this outcome. Worker representatives have sounded the alarm about the project’s colossal risk level numerous times,” it continued. “In front of employees, management arrogantly explained that success was a given for Spellcasters Chronicles, thanks to ’30 years of experience’ of the decision-makers. In front of the workers’ council, management refused to consider other scenarios and to plan accordingly. Failure was never an option, never thought about, never planned for: incompetence led us here today. Workers pay for management’s misguided ways.”
Along with the management itself, the union has also noted that Quantic Dream shareholder NetEase also shares the blame, thanks in large part to its push to stop development of Spellcasters Chronicles as soon as possible, as well as a lack of marketing surrounding its launch.
STJV wraps up with a list of demands for Quantic Dream, chief among them being the cancellation of all planned terminations. Along with this, the union has also said that the team behind Spellcasters Chronicles should, in the absence of a new project, be reassigned to work on Star Wars Eclipse. The union also wants workers to be “re-categorized at a higher professional rank” in order to give them better rights and employment protections, and for the management and leadership teams to accept responsibility for the failure of the project and to resign immediately.
Spellcasters Chronicles was unveiled in October 2025 and revolves around putting players in the shoes of spellcasters that partake in 3-on-3 PvP battles. Along with spells, players also have the ability to control large armies that include a variety of fantasy creatures, from dragons to skeletons. The title boasted of more than 50 spells and summons.
While the title remains playable for those who already added it to the library until its servers are shut down on June 19th, no new players can give Spellcasters Chronicles a shot, with Steam noting that the game is no longer available on the store.
