The Chinese Room Lays Off Staff Amidst Sumo Group Restructuring

The Chinese Room, the UK studio behind games like Dear Esther and Still Wakes the Deep, has reportedly let go of several employees. The layoffs arrive as the studio’s parent company, Sumo Group, shifts its business strategy.

Job Cuts Confirmed

Multiple former employees have disclosed their departure from the studio on LinkedIn last week. Several posts alluded to job cuts within the Sumo Group subsidiary. At least nine individuals have announced their exit, with several indicating the layoffs directly.

“We are none of us safe from the headsman’s axe when redundancy time comes around,” said former technical producer Pascal Siddons.

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Another post from a former VFX artist, who worked on Still Wakes the Deep: Siren’s Rest and Vampire: The Masquerade—Bloodlines 2, stated, “The scurge of redundancy has struck.” The video game industry saw approximately 10,000 layoffs in 2023, as companies restructured and adjusted to market changes (GamesIndustry.biz).

Strategic Shift

This news emerges shortly after The Chinese Room’s parent firm, Sumo Group, revealed intentions to move away from creating original franchises. Instead, the focus will be on collaborative development endeavors. This shift followed a prior announcement, eight months earlier, where the company cut 15 percent of its global workforce.

When discussing the business pivot in February, the company acknowledged that its workforce would be impacted. However, they didn’t specify the details.

The Chinese Room is known for its original projects. Since being acquired by Sumo in 2018, the studio has released games like Little Orpheus and Still Wakes the Deep. In 2023, it also took over the development of Vampire: The Masquerade—Bloodlines 2.

Efforts to obtain more information from the Sumo Group have been made. The company’s Sheffield office confirmed that multiple members of Sumo’s Content & Communications team had been affected by the ongoing restructuring.