Dontnod Faces Bankruptcy: Major Layoffs at Life is Strange Studio
The management remains, and the laid-off employees believe the firings are illegal.
French studio Dontnod, known for Life is Strange, is facing a financial crisis and has conducted mass layoffs. According to a statement from the game industry union Le Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Video, the company has cut most of its regular staff while retaining its management.
Data published by the union indicates that Dontnod has lost several development teams. All six animators, three character artists, three concept artists, and six junior producers have lost their jobs.
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The layoffs also affected technical departments: out of 22 programmers, 18 were laid off, out of ten environment artists — eight, and out of five testers — three. Four out of eight game designers, three out of five level designers, two out of three sound engineers, and two out of three DevOps were also let go.
STJV representatives accuse Dontnod's management of illegal firings. According to employees, management openly stated its intention to retain certain individuals, and the union considers this practice a violation of French law.
Former employees link the crisis to management's attempts to execute an overly ambitious project without sufficient funding. It is claimed that for two years, Dontnod has unsuccessfully sought investors but has not been able to find new partners.
The studio's executives have not yet commented on the allegations from former employees.
