Subway Surfers Blast developer Outplay Entertainment has laid off 21 workers

Subway Surfers Blast and Angry Birds Pop developer Outplay Entertainment has laid off 21 employees.

The Scottish studio confirmed the news in a email sent to MobileGamer.biz and said the layoffs were made in response to “current business realities.”

“This step was taken to align our operations with current business realities and to support a strategic shift toward partnering with publishers for future game releases,” wrote Outplay CEO Douglas Hare in the email.

“This was not a decision we took lightly. We are incredibly grateful to the talented individuals affected, many of whom have made lasting contributions to our games and culture. We are doing everything we can to support them through this transition.”

Outplay was established in 2010 and is based in Dundee. The company styles itself as the largest independent mobile studio in the UK and claims its roster of titles has amassed over 160 million downloads to date. It now joins a chorus of other studios across the world in making layoffs.

Those cuts are frequently made to adapt to what companies often refer to as “headwinds” or the “business realities” of an industry that is still reckoning with the over-investment and bad bets made by decision-makers during the pandemic.

In recent months, companies such as People Can Fly, EA, Niantic, Playtime, Meta, Mighty Yell, Devolver, and PlaySide, Embracer, and Cyan Worlds have all made significant cuts. It is, unfortunately, a trend that has become something of a permanent fixture across the video game industry.

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