Fenris Creations, the Icelandic studio that used to be called CCP Games, has confirmed it laid off staff on its EVE Frontier (official site) team. The blockchain game is still being actively developed. According to the studio, it cut an undisclosed number of roles after reviewing the game’s priorities, structure and development plans.
The studio describes the changes as a way to build a “more focused development structure” for Frontier. Fenris says the cuts were proposed by EVE Frontier’s own leadership and cover only this project. It also says they have nothing to do with any wider restructuring of the company.
What it means for players
Some of the affected employees have said publicly that they were made redundant, and they include people from engineering and quality assurance. Fenris hasn’t said whether the game’s development timetable will change as a result.
The game is now in its 7th Cycle. A cycle lasts three months. New features get tested during that window, and then the entire universe is wiped.
EVE Frontier moved to Sui Testnet in March. The move opened its programmable Smart Assemblies to outside developers, who can now run custom logic on structures like turrets, stargates and storage facilities. The studio held an $80,000 hackathon at the same time, inviting both in-world modifications and external tools that connect through the game’s API.
Six months after the buyout
The job cuts arrive six months after the studio became independent again from South Korean publisher Pearl Abyss. In May, senior management and long-term investors bought the studio for $120 million, a figure that includes cash and non-cash consideration. The business took the name Fenris Creations after the deal.
At the time of the announcement, Fenris said the ownership change came with no restructuring or layoffs. In its latest statement, the studio says that promise matched its plans back then, and that the decisions since were driven by what Frontier needed for its development.