Sunday evening, Phoenix Labs announced another round of layoffs to hit the studio, and they’ve determined it will affect most of the staff.
The creators of Fae Farm and Dauntless, Phoenix Labs, announced yesterday evening that the studio will face another round of downsizing. This decision will affect the “majority” of the studio’s employees. The announcement was made on the official Phoenix Labs LinkedIn page, which lists the development team as having approximately 90 current employees.
The post states: “We have made the tough decision to part ways with the majority of the studio as part of unfortunate but necessary changes to our operations.” Regarding the future of Dauntless and Fae Farm, the post adds: “We will share more details in the coming weeks about what this means for Dauntless and Fae Farm.”
Phoenix Labs adds to the growing trend of mass layoffs in the gaming industry. January isn’t over yet, and many studios have already faced “restructuring efforts.” Since 2023, developer Farhan Noor has maintained a website tracking industry layoffs. The site has already documented hundreds of layoffs since the start of 2025.
On the same day, Ubisoft announced the closure of Ubisoft Leamington (formerly FreeStyle Games), laying off 185 staff members in the process. In a statement, Ubisoft said: “Unfortunately, this should impact 185 employees overall. We are deeply grateful for their contributions and are committed to supporting them through this transition.”
Phoenix Labs recently released an expansion update for Dauntless called Awakening, and fans have been keen to voice criticism about a newly installed microtransaction marketplace over on Reddit and Steam ‘recent reviews’ of Dauntless has shifted to “overwhelmingly negative.”
Although Phoenix Labs is laying off staff, in their farewell message, they implore other studios to “reach out to these exceptional individuals – they are some of the best in the business.”
