The company behind H1Z1 has been around a long time, and it seems things aren’t going as swimmingly as one would originally believe. It turns out that the company has laid off a portion of its workforce these last few weeks. The company has been working exclusively on refocusing their work into the Battle Royal genre as a whole.
In a statement received by Massively OP, Daybreak Game Studios has laid off between 60 to 70 employees in what is being called an “optimization” for the company. These layoffs represent about one-third of the workforce at the company. A statement from the company clarified the efforts and their justification:
This effort has required us to make some changes within the organization and we are doing everything we can to support those impacted in this difficult time. As we look to improve efficiencies and realign resources, we remain focused on supporting our existing games and development of our future titles.
H1Z1 has been through a lot of changes over the years, until it recently went free-to-play the game has added tons of new modes and a bunch of other changes. And it seems like these attempts to find their footing have made for a difficult financial state for Deybreak Games. Since the release of the game in 2015, and an eventual port to consoles, the game has added modes like an “Auto Royale” system in an attempt to bring competition against major titles in the genre like Fortnite or PUBG. While H1Z1 has been the longest-running title in the genre, the game has largely failed to bring the enraptured attention of the gamer masses, so it’s pretty sad to see these kinds of things happen. We wish everyone negatively impacted by this the best of luck.
H1Z1 is available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
