Team 17, the British publisher behind some of the best indie games of recent years, has parted ways with CEO Michael Pattison and entered a “period of consultation.”
In a comment on VG247Team 17 confirmed that it had “amicably parted ways with Michael” and that the studio has “sadly entered a period of consultation today within Team 17 Digital, with Astragon and Storytoys remaining unaffected by restructuring plans.”
This news comes in response to reports earlier today predicting layoffs at the publisher. Eurogamer reports this that the majority of the developer’s internal Quality Assurance (QA) team would be affected, and published a claim from anonymous sources that “approximately 50 roles… are at risk as part of a major restructuring process”.
According to a source at VG247, Ann Hurley, Team 17’s commercial operations director, read out a statement at an emergency town hall meeting earlier today, saying the publisher has “felt the pressure” this year, “like many companies in our industry.” ”
Team 17 is known for having published a range of critically acclaimed indie titles including Overcooked, moving, worming, dredgingAnd Yooka Laylee. Despite its wide range of well-crafted indie titles, it appears the publisher may be facing an even tougher time as it tries to stay solvent through restructuring.
Team 17 also suffered from a series laid off in March when the company attempted a “reshuffle,” but it appears the layoffs did little to bolster the publisher’s long-term prospects.
This was also a difficult time for other parts of the sector. Epic Games, the developer behind Fortnite, More than 800 employees were dismissed at the end of September. CEO Tim Sweeny shared a public announcement stating that the company “has come to the conclusion that layoffs are the only way forward.”
Team 17 has published some of the best co-op games And best multiplayer pc games outside.