Layoffs come to Firaxis after Marvel game's commercial failure
Firaxis, makers of Civilization and Marvel’s Midnight Suns, laid off roughly 30 employees, a source familiar with the matter told Axios. While Axios’ source and the studio’s official comment didn’t mention a reason, the layoffs come a few months after Firaxis admitted their Marvel game underperformed.
A Firaxis representative told Axios that the layoffs are meant to help with the “sharpening of focus, enhancements of efficiencies, and an alignment of our talent against our highest priorities. The studio remains focused on developing critically acclaimed video games.”
Firaxis’ parent company Take Two Interactive announced a $50 million cost reduction program earlier in 2023, and these layoffs are likely part of that program.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns released in December 2022, and Take Two recognized soon after that it underperformed. Company CEO Strauss Zelnick said during Take Two’s February 2023 earnings call that poor timing likely factored into the game’s lackluster reception. It launched just weeks after God of War Ragnarok, and the promised Switch version didn’t happen after all.
As for what’s next with Firaxis, the company also announced in February 2023 that development on Civilization 7 has begun, though without two senior leads – Jake Solomon and Steve Martin, both of whom left the company that month.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF