H1Z1 Dev Daybreak Games Hit With Layoffs
The developer of H1Z1, Daybreak Game Company, is one of the many studios who find themselves in the midst of trying to bring their best when it comes to the battle royale experience. For Daybreak specifically, up until this point, they weren’t going all-in on battle royale, as the studio has been working on additional projects while H1Z1 was being developed for consoles earlier this year. That is until now, with reports all but confirming Daybreak is turning its attention solely to battle royale after a new round of layoffs.
In a statement received by Massively OP, Daybreak Game Studios has laid off between 60 to 70 employees in what is being called an “optimization” for the company. While the free-to-play H1Z1 released in beta form in May for consoles before officially launching in August, the Austin studio was also said to have been working on a new IP which has been kept under wraps. It appears the majority of the layoffs have affected those who were working on said project, which could mean that Daybreak is going all-in on battle royale.
There have been a number of troubles to come from Daybreak in recent memory, last year there were reports of the H1Z1 esports league being in serious trouble. Though the company’s president stated the claims were false, seeing two rounds of layoffs the following year is never a good sign, especially when done in the middle of the holiday season. While a larger number of people have been let go from the company this year alone, the Austin-based developer has stated there’s nothing to worry about in terms of a studio closure. Before the recent employees were let go, another round of layoffs had occurred in April of this year.
Before coming to consoles, H1Z1 released in early access for Microsoft Windows back in 2015. Given the time-frame for when H1Z1 became playable in beta form, people may forget it’s one of the pioneering titles of the now battle royale craze. While games such as PUBG and Fortnite have influenced larger companies such as Activision and EA to try their own hand at Battle Royale, H1Z1 is one of the longest-running games in the genre despite not catching the same kind of attention as the aforementioned games.
Of course, we wish the best to those affected by the layoffs at Daybreak.
H1Z1 is available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
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