Refractor Games cuts most of staff after Fifa World Cup launch
Developing story first seen 4 hours ago
Refractor Games, the studio behind Fifa World Cup: Launch Edition, has laid off around 85% of its staff less than two months after the game's release. The title launched exclusively on Netflix on 11th June and was published by Delphi Interactive, which also worked on 007: First Light. The cuts, confirmed by studio head Nathan Burba, follow the cancellation of funding for the studio's next project, and news spread after affected employees posted about the layoffs on LinkedIn.
Reports indicate roughly 80 members of staff were let go in total, though the studio itself has not been shut down entirely despite some social media posts suggesting otherwise. Burba did not elaborate further on the reasons when contacted by Gamesbeat, and Eurogamer has approached both Fifa and Delphi for comment, which has yet to be received.
- Refractor Games cuts 85% of staff after Fifa World Cup launch
- Roughly 80 employees affected; studio not fully closed
- Layoffs blamed on cancelled funding for next project
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Refractor Games is a UK video game studio that developed Fifa World Cup: Launch Edition, a football game released exclusively on Netflix on 11th June. The game was published by Delphi Interactive, a company also involved in the recent James Bond game 007: First Light. Studio head Nathan Burba has confirmed that most of the workforce has now been let go, following the loss of funding for the studio's next project.
The wider context here is the games industry's ongoing wave of layoffs, where studios often depend on securing backing for their next title to keep staff employed once a current project ships. Netflix has been expanding into gaming as part of its broader entertainment offering, making this launch part of that push, though the streaming giant is not reported to be directly responsible for the cuts.
The scale of the layoffs, roughly 80 people, matters because it shows how quickly a studio's fortunes can change even after a game reaches release, and it raises questions about the studio's future and the wider stability of jobs in game development.
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Originally published by Eurogamer as “The developer behind Fifa World Cup – which launched less than two months ago – has laid off 85% of its staff”.