Irish video game studio announces major job cuts

Vela Games joins the running list of companies to announce layoffs following a failure to meet its financial expectations

Just last year, the studio launched its first-ever multiplayer, competitive game, Evercore Heroes, where teams of four compete in a player-versus-environment game

Irish video game studio, Vela has announced significant layoffs following its failure to meet financial expectations. 

Founded in 2017, the Dublin-headquartered gaming studio is believed to employ between 60 and 65 staff members, a "significant" number of which are facing layoffs.

According to the Financial Services Union, around 50 people will be cut from the firm's operations.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, however, a spokesperson for Vela Games said the number was "less than 50, by more than just a few," adding that the firm would not release specific details on internal proceedings.

Just last year, the studio launched its first-ever multiplayer, competitive game, Evercore Heroes, where teams of four compete in a player-versus-environment game. 

The milestone launch followed a round of funding for the Irish firm, in which more than €14.1m was invested into the studio. Additional funding was also secured in 2021 by Enterprise Ireland, resulting in a significant hiring spree across the company in the last 18 months.

In a statement released this week, Vela Games said it made some major changes to the team size at Vela, "reducing the team headcount significantly across all departments."

"The team size will phase down over the coming months, as people work out their notice periods and eventually transition out of Vela."

"This is, unfortunately, a painful, but necessary move to be able to continue to pursue our vision for Evercore Heroes in a responsible way going forward."

Speaking on the layoffs, Gareth Murphy, Head of Industrial Relations and Campaigns with the Financial Services Union, which has a branch focused on video game workers, described the announcement as "disappointing and a worrying development for the games sector."

"A worrying trend of employers letting staff go way too easily is emerging in the tech sector and now games. The tech sector is currently offering very little job security for workers.

"VELA have just launched a new game, so this announcement has come as a shock to workers."

The FSU, which has seen a major jump in membership following widespread layoffs across the tech sector, has called on the government to review existing legislation with unions to make it harder for employers to issue redundancies.

The layoffs at Vela Games are the latest to hit the Irish gaming sector, following cuts at major employers across the country. Earlier this year, Electronic Arts (EA), which employs around 400 people in Ireland announced job cuts impacting around 6% of global employees following a "challenging year" for the industry.

In addition, GameStop has also winded up their Irish operations, with all 35 of its remaining stores closing this year. In 2022, the company said its net liabilities exceeded €40m following a loss of €6m, with more than 200 employees impacted by the closure.

"While the Government is creating specific tax incentives for the games sector it is doing very little to increase the job security and working conditions for those in the sector and this needs to change," Mr Murphy concluded.