Big Fish Games laid off a sizable portion of its staff today, a reduction an internal letter obtained by GeekWire says comes from a desire to pivot operations rather than concerns over company funds.
Ultimately, around 250 people stand to lose their jobs in this round of layoffs.
In that internal letter sent to staff, Big Fish Games co-presidents Andrew Pedersen and Jason Willig say that the company is “proactively” reorganizing “from a position fo financial strength” and in a way that will give it greater agility and flexibility to “be a more effective and customer-centric organization.”
Most of the jobs being eliminated are confined to Big Fish Games’ Seattle office, though “almost all functional groups” are affected. The letter obtained by GeekWire notes that Big Fish is “providing departing colleagues with a separation package that is above the minimum required to support them through this change,” which notably still falls during a global pandemic.
As always, if you or someone you know has been affected by these layoffs, you can email Gamasutra to share your story confidentially.
It’s also worth noting that, though not mentioned in the internal letter, these layoffs fall a mere day after the approval for the settlement of a class action lawsuit over Big Fish Casino that sees both Big Fish Games' current and previous parent companies on the hook for the combined $155 million settlement (via GeekWire).