Texas-based developer Six Foot has confirmed that they've laid off one-third of their staff. The entertainment firm had been working alongside Spec Ops: The Line developers Yager on their flagship space title Dreadnought, which released on Steam just last week. The title, which launched on PlayStation 4 late last year, was hampered by delays, slow sales, and mixed reviews.
A statement issued to Game Informer said that Six Foot staff were informed of "upcoming potential for major changes to company structure" back in August. They were given the option to "stay on and continue working or begin searching for other opportunities".
"We remain committed to Dreadnought's ongoing development, growth, and the pursuit of new projects," the statement continued. "We are also dedicated to remaining active in helping our affected family to transition as smoothly as possible.
"We're continuing to make available the full resources of our company to try to help those affected and their families land on their feet as quickly as possible,"
Over the weekend, following the announcement of the layoffs, staff were given the option of taking unpaid leave and returning in the event that Dreadnought became successful enough to support everyone, or taking severance.
An anonymous source told Game Informer that staff costs ran at $80,000 a day when Dreadnought was only making $20,000. They also claimed that Six Foot spent around $400,000 in the final months of development to hastily finish the PC version of Dreadnought.
A skeleton crew remains to continue development on the game, but it's unclear for how long.
Dreadnought is Six Foot Games' first title as lead developer, having previously produced Rime and Grey Goo working with the developers there along with publisher Grey Box who also published Dreadnought. The Six Foot group also operates interests in investment and business incubation, technology solutions, staffing, branding, and marketing among others.
What do you think? Have you played Dreadnought? What are your thoughts on the game? Let us know below!
