Oslo-based Funcom confirmed that it has laid off an undisclosed number of employees. The development is coming barely four months after the release of Dune: Awakening, which the developer said was the biggest title in their 32-year history.
“The game has already shown incredible potential,” read the statement sent to GamesIndustry.biz, “and the right way forward is to focus our internal resources on releasing new content, features, and enhancements”.
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“The transition from development to long-term live operation, while also building towards a major console release next year, will require us to restructure our teams and focus our resources from across projects and studios. Unfortunately, this also means having to say goodbye to cherished colleagues.
“This difficult process is starting now, and we cannot yet determine the exact impact. We are working to find new opportunities for those affected. Our focus now is to provide these team members with the support and guidance they need, and we ask for your understanding at this time as we will not make further comments during this process.”
Dune: Awakening was Funcom’s fastest-selling game. It shipped one million copies in just 2 weeks when it launched on PC back in June. The console (PS5 and Xbox Series X) launch is scheduled for 2026.
Funcom layoff linked to the ‘denial’ of review keys
The CEO of PR World Limited, Manos Gryparis left a lengthy post on LinkedIn concerning the layoff at Funcom that has attracted outrage from developers and gamers alike. Gryparis claimed he asked for review keys but was denied, which prevented the game from reaching its full sales potential.
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“Rui Casais : It is sad that there are layoffs in Funcom just a few months after the Dune: Awakening launch,” Gryparis wrote. “But the fact is that you didn’t sent reviews keys to all gaming news websites.”
“So if you do not send review keys to all gaming news websites, how do you expect to have the maximum number of sales? Not to mention that I am a big fan of Dune. Just a thought. And the same question is for every game developer out there who is not responding when gaming news websites are requesting review keys.”
The backlash in the comment section of the post was unprecedented, with many using terms like “narrow-minded”, “selfish”, and “horrible” to describe both the content of the post or the person who made the post.
Impacted Funcom employees speak after the layoff
Around 24 hours after the news was first published, more than two dozen people have posted on LinkedIn that they were impacted by the Funcom layoff.
“My time at Funcom is coming to an end due to recent layoffs,” wrote Ana Maria Grecu. While goodbyes are hard, I’m truly thankful for the colleagues, mentors, and experiences that shaped my journey there.”
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Senior QA manual tester, Sergui Banu was filled with gratitude as he penned a lengthy post on LinkedIn. “Unfortunately, I, along with many of my incredible colleagues, have been affected by the recent layoffs at Funcom,” Banu wrote.
“My time there was filled with both exciting milestones and tough challenges – a journey that brought some of the highest highs and, sadly, now one of the lowest lows.”
The layoff was not isolated to any particular department. Junior-level designer Mathew Merino also announced that he was impacted, saying, “Unfortunately, I have also been affected by Funcom’s recent restructuring and am now looking for that next opportunity.”
“It has been, quite honestly, a dream job working at Funcom for the past couple of years. From the people that I met, to the levels I got to design, it was all so fun and rewarding. I want to emphasize the people, though. Everyone I’ve been privileged enough to collaborate with or even casually talk with in the break room – you are the real MVPs.”
Other former Funcom employees who confirmed their layoff through LinkedIn posts include:
- Ignasi Miró Sastre – Community Manager II
- Nicholas Russell – Programmer/Game Developer
- George Alexandru Cotofana – Senior Project Manager
- Ruxandra Georgescu – Associate QA Lead
- Andrei Ciobotaru – Manual QA Tester
- Gabriel Blain – Senior Concept Artist
- Krista Polito – Production Assistant
- Rebecka Bjurgard – Release Manager
- Brett Freese – Senior Level Designer II
- Luis Gustavo Fernandes Ferreira – Programmer
- Nita George-Cristian – QA Tester
- Robin Kårlin – 3D Artist
- Stella Carrick – Environment Artist
- Gideon Stancu – Dev QA Tester
Funcom was founded in 1993. At its peak, the company employed over 500 people from 37 different nationalities. They have studios in Oslo in Norway, Durham in the USA, Lisbon in Portugal, Stockholm in Sweden, and Bucharest in Romania. Other games in their portfolio include Anarchy Online and Conan Exiles.
