People Can Fly has suspended two of its projects, and announced further layoffs.
As shared on LinkedIn, People Can Fly CEO Sebastian Wojciechowski said development has been paused on project Gemini and Bitfrost due to issues with an unnamed publisher.
Wojciechowski explained that the publisher had “not presented [it] with a draft of the subsequent content rider to the publishing agreement covering the terms and conditions of further milestones”.
He also noted a “lack of communication from the publisher as to its willingness to continue or terminate” both projects.
Bitfrost was also affected by “the analysis of People Can Fly’s cash flow” which Wojciechowski said “showed a lack of prospects for securing organisational resources and funds necessary to continue production and release this project”.
Due to the suspension of both projects, the studio will “scale down [its] teams” with an unknown number of employees affected.
“We wish to express our deepest regret and sadness over how these events have unfolded and our sincere gratitude for everyone’s contribution up to this point.”
Wojciechowski didn’t specify the publisher he was referring to in his statement.
People Can Fly is currently working with Krafton on project Echo and Sony Interactive Entertainment on project Delta. It is also working with Xbox Game Studios on Gears of War: E-Day.
In 2021, it worked with Square Enix for its online title Outriders.
People Can Fly was hit with layoffs in January 2024, and was reported to have cut more than 30 employees due to budget limitations.
The developer experienced another round of redundancies last December, affecting over 120 workers.
“This action became necessary as external market pressure persisted beyond our forecasts,” said Wojciechowski.
“The market is still evolving, and we have to adjust with where things are today. We are rebuilding our efforts with new work for hire engagements and focusing on the development of a single independent game.”
He continued: “We believe in our teams, games, and their potential, and we remain extremely committed to continuing this journey. But we need to tailor our plans to our financial capacity.”
At the time, this involved scaling down development on project Bitfrost which has since been suspended.
