Phoenix Labs, the manufacturer of Dauntless and Fae Farm, dismissed the majority of its staff two years after being quietly acquired by the strong blockchain games company.
The layoffs occurred a month after having published an unpopular update for Dauntless on Steam, and just before another game is about to spend early access, according to comments from employees dismissed on social networks.
In a post on Bluesky and LiendinPhoenix Labs announced that it was “another difficult day at Phoenix Labs. He said that the company had made the “decision difficult to separate from the majority of the studio as part of unhappy changes but necessary for our operations”.
The company said that it appreciated the contributions of people affected and that it will share more details in the coming weeks on what it means for Dauntless and Fae Farm.
Dauntless is a free live service game, while Fae Farm is a premium game with online multiplayer. Game developer reported On the studio troubles after Strong Labs acquired it quietly in 2023, without announcing the change of property.
The Awakening update for Dauntless was criticized by the players for its new monetization in the application and the loss of previous progression. The game now has overwhelming negative criticisms on Steam. Phoenix Labs previously belonged to Garena de Singapore, the publisher of Free Fire and a subsidiary of Sea Ltd. Garena sold the company in 2023, and Phoenix Labs previously dismissed 160 people after the strong agreement.
