Game fund Astra lays off employees before holidays

Employees at venture fund Astra revealed they were recently laid off. An exact number is unclear, but those affected lamented how it comes so close to the holidays, a similar occurrence at Free Radical and Hasbro.

"I just lost my job the day before Christmas break and subsequent parental leave," said one ex-staffer.

Its website is currently locked down, but Astra bills itself as a philanthropic fund with a specific focus on thinking games. It launched in 2022 with several projects funded, one of which came from Puzzmo co-creator Zach Gage.

Other Astra-funded titles include Floppy Club's Rytmos, Abandoned Sheep's Schrodinger's Cat Burglar, and Animo Games' Star Stuff.

"Our mission is to support the development of great thinking games and to broadly advocate for the value in playing them," it explained.

Game Developer reached out to Astra for comment, and will update when a response is given.