Tomb Raider maker Crystal Dynamics has announced a new wave of layoffs that will impact “a number” of talented colleagues. The decision was blamed on “evolving business conditions”.
“Today we made the very difficult decision to part ways with a number of our talented colleagues as the result of evolving business conditions,” Crystal Dynamics announced in a statement.
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“This decision was not made lightly. It was necessary, however, to ensure the long-term health of our studio and core creative priorities in a continually shifting market.”
The Tomb Raider maker appreciated those impacted for their “hard work, talent, and passion”, while committing to fully supporting them with resources through the transition.
Crystal Dynamics was founded in 1992 in San Mateo, California. It quickly grew into a world-class studio through the development of games based on iconic franchises. The studio is a property of Embracer and has undergone a series of layoffs, like many other studios owned by the parent company.
The studio was behind the development of Perfect Dark, which was recently cancelled. There were speculations about whether the cancellation was related to the recent layoffs. According to the narrative designer, Leilan Nishi, it actually did.
“My five years at Crystal Dynamics ended today in the aftermath of Perfect Dark’s cancellation,” Nishi wrote. “It was a special team on that project, and I’m grateful to all the wonderful people I met along the way. ❤️ Hopefully our paths cross again soon.”
Impacted Crystal Dynamics devs share their views
The exact number of people impacted was not mentioned, but GameBaba Universe spotted over a dozen posts on LinkedIn from impacted devs. For some, it was their first layoff experience, while for others it was a familiar scene playing out again.
“Welp, I was part of the layoffs today that happened at Crystal Dynamics,” wrote digital artist Chad Greene.
Senior software engineer Jose Aponte wrote, “Like many of my talented colleagues, I was affected by the recent layoffs at Crystal Dynamics and today marks my last day. While it’s always tough to close a chapter, I’m genuinely excited about the opportunities ahead and eager to bring my skills and passion to a new role.”
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“Well, it finally happened. After nearly 8 long years I’ve been laid off from Crystal Dynamics,” wrote senior animator Jaron Gittleman. “It’s been a helluva run. From Avengers to Tomb Raider to Perfect Dark it has been a journey of a ton of growth. I learned so much and worked with some of the best. I’ll miss them dearly.”
One of the most emotional posts we came across was from level designer Chris Sharpe, who wrote, “I don’t post often and I’m trying not to get emotional so I’ll just state facts: I got caught up in the recent layoffs at Crystal Dynamics. I’m looking for intermediate or junior Level design roles.”
Game producer Buffy Rice gave an insight into the amount of work they did on Perfect Dark: “Hopefully one day the world will see the incredible amount of work and passion that went into Perfect Dark – it’s remarkable how far it came before its end,” Rice wrote.
Other people who confirmed they were laid off from the studio include senior designer Matthew Angus, producer Jordan Zuchowski, and senior artist Josh Larsen. GameBaba Universe included a link to the profiles of everyone mentioned in this post to make it easy for those with open roles to reach out to them.
