Elite Dangerous and F1 Manager studio Frontier Developments has announced that it will be laying off an unspecified number of staff members.
The news comes via a trading update issued earlier today, wherein Frontier admitted to a period of "disappointing financial performance" during 2023.
The studio also points to "more challenging industry conditions" as one of the driving reasons behind its impending restructure, which is intended to return Frontier to profit and create a sustainable future foundation.
It's not clear how many members of staff will be leaving Frontier, but the studio says the layoffs will be "subject to consultation".
In addition to laying off staff, Frontier will also be freezing further recruitment and making spending cuts elsewhere in the business in order to achieve cost reductions.
All of this is expected to take place by early 2024, by which time Frontier hopes to be in a stronger position to "capitalize on future opportunities".
According to GamesIndustry.biz, Frontier's financials for the year ending May 31st show a loss of £26.6 million, compared to an operating profit of £1.5 million for the preceding year.
This loss is, GI.biz says, partially driven by the underperformance of this year's F1 Manager game, so it looks like that extra realism didn't translate into a big enough sales boost for the property.
GI.biz also points to the closure of Frontier's publishing label Foundry, which the site says has also had a negative impact on Frontier's finances for this year.
Despite this gloomy news, Frontier seems optimistic about its future.
The studio says that its existing portfolio is still performing "in line with expectations", and that it "looks forward to" the upcoming release of fantasy RTS Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin, as well as Black Friday and Christmas.
Frontier is the latest of several studios to announce layoffs in recent months.
Others include Telltale Games (although all projects remain in development there, apparently), as well as Embracer Group, British publisher Team17, and co-development studio Puny Human.
Stay tuned for more news on all things gaming industry-related.
