Jagex is one of the latest companies to confirm a round of layoffs, continuing a pattern that most had probably hoped would ease by now.
Speculation about potential cuts came on the RuneScape subreddit, when some mods had gone inactive, according to a report by PC Gamer. After the discussion began, another mod, Hooli, confirmed a “ restructuring” and said cuts affected non-game development and “non-player-facing areas”.
Later, the company released a statement to PC Gamer to confirm the layoffs and their scope (the number is still unknown). The spokesperson said that, “As part of our strategy to build the best experiences for players and grow the RuneScape community, we have proposed changes to our operational structure”.
The statement follows similar statements from other companies with their own restructuring efforts and scaling back as an effort to position the company in a better position, more agile and focused. They also promise to support affected employees and confirmed that the cuts were not development or player-facing teams and remain committed to announced roadmaps and future development.
Jagex has been hard at work expanding upon the RuneScape IP with tabletop games, a cookbook, and the recently in Early Access survival game, RuneScape: Dragonwilds.
