UK publisher Kwalee is making at least 10 redundancies, we’re told, mostly in its marketing team.
The affected staff were informed last week, we understand. Some employees have been posting on LinkedIn that they are seeking new opportunities.
Kwalee did not respond to a request for a comment when asked yesterday. This new round of cuts follow on from layoffs that took place in April, when around 40 staff were made redundant. At the time, Kwalee told us that the cuts were the result of a restructuring, and that it actually expects its headcount to grow overall from around 400 to up to 420.
It also said back in April that it expects to make further investments like the €1.5m stake in French hybridcasual outfit 8SEC it announced in January 2024.
Kwalee launched its new publishing portal Hitseeker in February, not long after hiring Unity/IronSource veteran John Wright to head up its mobile efforts. Wright told us in October 2023 that Kwalee wanted to be “the nice guy of publishing”.
Kwalee CEO and founder David Darling recently published a blog in which he described the UK publisher as having gone “all-in” on AI.
“At Kwalee, we’re not just a games company, but also a technology company, and we’re investing in research, development and new technologies to help us make incredible games,” wrote Darling.
“We’ve gone all-in on Artificial Intelligence – seeing it as a tool to augment the skills of our teams rather than anything that can replace the human mind. As a company, we’re committed to staying at the forefront of these advancements, and we constantly seek to learn and adapt, embracing new technologies and exploring innovative ways to make fun games.”
