RuneScape studio Jagex confirms layoffs 'to reduce complexity, increase agility, and ensure we are fully focused on the areas that matter most'
Less than two months after releasing the open-world survival game RuneScape: Dragonwilds into early access on Steam, Jagex has laid off an unspecified number of employees. The studio says the vast majority of cuts are being made in "non-game development roles," and won't have any impact on the future development.
The layoffs first came to light on the RuneScape subreddit, where users noticed that a number of moderators had seemingly disappeared. RuneScape Mod Hooli commented on the thread to say that there had indeed been a restructuring at Jagex, which included job cuts.
Hooli said the majority of the layoffs were "from non-game dev and non-player facing areas," and that the studio's plans for RuneScape remained unchanged: "Our Roadmap won't change because of these job reductions, and we'll continue the great path we’ve been on with our content."
Jagex confirmed the layoffs in a statement provided to PC Gamer.
"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," a Jagex spokesperson said. "These adjustments are designed to reduce complexity, increase agility, and ensure we are fully focused on the areas that matter most—our games, our players, and our future.
"The vast majority of proposed role reductions are within non-game development and non-player-facing functions, such as operations and administrative support. Our intention is to protect and strengthen the teams directly responsible for delivering value to players. We recognize that any change of this nature is difficult, and we are committed to supporting all impacted employees throughout the transition."
Jagex declined to say how many people will be put out of work as a result of the cuts, but noted that the majority of the cuts will not impact "frontline development or player-facing teams."
The game industry has been plagued by layoffs over the past few years, and despite hopes that 2025 might be the year we all finally say enough, that has so far not been the case. Last week alone saw layoffs at Playtonic, People Can Fly, and Electronic Arts, which closed Cliffhanger Games outright after cancelling the Black Panther game it had in development; previous cuts have also been made at Ubisoft, Cyan Worlds, Mighty Yell, Eidos Montreal, and engine maker Unity.