Humble Games has announced restructuring plans amid what it calls “difficult economic times for indie publishing,” with several former employees announcing layoffs. according to Nicole Carpenter of Polygonlayoffs include 36 employees. [Disclosure: IGN Entertainment and publishing label Humble Games operate under separate divisions of the same parent company, Ziff Davis. Charity bundle platform Humble Bundle remains a subsidiary of IGN Entertainment.]
The announcement was part of Humble Games’ statement on Linkedin. several employees confirmed their layoffs on social media. While Humble Bundle is not affected by the restructuring, the statement emphasized “the goal of ensuring the stability and support of our administrators and ongoing projects.”
In these difficult economic times for indie game publishing, Humble Games has made the difficult but necessary decision to restructure our operations. This decision was not taken lightly; This involved a lot of discussion and careful thought to ensure stability and support for our developers and ongoing projects. Additionally, restructuring transactions on Humble Games will not affect transactions on Humble Bundle.
We are aware of the profound impact this decision has had on our team members at Humble Games, and we deeply sympathize with everyone affected. Our team’s contributions have been world-class and invaluable, supporting the launch of our games since we started publishing in 2017. We are committed to managing this transition with as much empathy and understanding as possible.
Supporting our development partners and helping former team members remains our top priority. We are committed to making this transition as smooth as possible for all involved. Thank you for your support and compassion during this difficult time. It is deeply appreciated.
Reached separately for comment, a Ziff Davis representative shared the statement posted above, saying the company “is not shutting down, but is undergoing restructuring” and that “all past and ongoing projects and future releases will not be affected and will continue to be supported and published by Humble Games.” A representative said they could not comment on the number of employees affected or remaining. Next has since announced that all employees have been laid off and that the work will be completed by a third-party company.
Humble Games is an indie publishing label with a portfolio including Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus, Signalis, and Stray Gods. Several developers working with Humble Games expressed sympathy following the layoffs.
“My best wishes to all the former Humble Games staff, several of whom helped make this possible [Unsighted] what was that” Unsighted developer Fernanda Dias wrote. “Thank you so much for working so hard on such amazing games. This is incredibly heartening news.”
Humble Games is one of several indie publishers forced to restructure during 2024 amid uncertainty in the gaming industry. IGN reported in May that Take-Two was quietly disbanding its Private Section label following the closure of OlliOlli World developer Roll7 and Kerbal. Space Program 2 studio Intercept Games. Xbox, PlayStation, EA and many other publishers have also been cut.
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