The Barcelona wing of Lost Ark and Crossfire studio Smilegate is to close down and all of its employees are to be laid off, if the studio's world director is to be believed.
In a post on his LinkedIn page (via VGC), Smilegate Barcelona world and narrative director Stephane Blais said earlier today that the gaming industry "is starting to look more and more like a game of Battleship" and that it is his studio's "turn to be hit".
He further announces in the post that Smilegate Barcelona's employees are all being laid off and that the studio is closing down. He says that the team was "fantastic and really dedicated", and that Smilegate Barcelona's employees worked hard to try to save the studio.
Smilegate Barcelona was originally founded in the summer of 2020 under the stewardship of CEO Yongil Kim.
The studio's first game was to be an open-world title for consoles. It had not yet been announced at the time of the studio's closure.
Other Smilegate Barcelona employees included the aforementioned Stephane Blais, whose credits include work on the Far Cry and Assassin's Creed franchises, as well as other industry luminaries like sometime Control 2 development director Stephane Assadourian and Assassin's Creed Odyssey level designer Fari Rug.
Unfortunately, Smilegate Barcelona is the latest in a long string of studios that have suffered layoffs, downsizing, or outright closure as part of an ongoing industry wave.
Other studios closed in recent months include Saints Row developer Volition, Stray Souls studio Jukai, and TimeSplitters outfit Free Radical Design, among others.
Many studios that have managed to avoid being closed down have still been struck with layoffs, too, including Respawn Entertainment, Supermassive Games, and Disco Elysium developer ZA/UM.
It's unlikely that Smilegate Barcelona will be the last studio to suffer the effects of this ongoing industry layoff wave. Stay tuned for more on this and all other things gaming industry-related.
