Crossfire and Lost Ark developer Smilegate has closed its Barcelona studio.
News of the closure has spread on Linkedin (thanks VGC) after multiple former employees explained the studio has been laid to rest.
“Well our journey at Smilegate Barcelona has come to an end,” wrote Edouard Albert, formerly a producer at the Spanish studio.
“Today marked the last day of Smilegate Barcelona, as the studio is closing its doors,” added former lead level designer Myles Kerwin. “And as the Battleship metaphor implies, 2023-2024 has been shaky, and every new batch of layoffs, or studio closures, no matter how big or small, has been felt by all of us in the industry, leading to a climate of nervousness and uncertainty. And so I am joining this group who has been affected directly.”
Former Smilegate Barcelona game and narrative director Stephane Blais deployed that same metaphor and said it was the studio’s “turn to be hit.” He added that all Smilegate Barcelona employees have been laid off and described the last six months as “pretty intense.”
The Smilegate Barcelona website is currently offline but the company itself has yet to comment.
2023 was viewed as a stellar year for video game but an awful year for developers, and some of the biggest companies in the industry are doing their best to continue that trend in 2024.
Since the turn of the year there have been thousands of layoffs across the industry and major studios closures, with the likes of Unity, Microsoft, Sony, Embracer, Sega, 2K Games, and more all cutting jobs in the name of things like sustainable growth and shareholder value.