Dauntless Has An Even More Uncertain Future As Phoenix Labs Lays Off The "Majority" Of The Studio

Dauntless has been in a very bad spot since the launch of the "Awakening" update. It was one of the largest missteps I've ever seen in gaming. To be fair, and reiterate what I said in my previous coverage, I think the original Phoenix Labs wouldn't have gone this way. I feel like the acqusition of the company by a blockchain-related company that was "kept secret" for as long as possible was the beginning of the end.

Now, a little over a week after delaying the "Umbral Reign" update, the monster-hunting game is in serious trouble.

According to a post from Phoenix Labs on LinkedIn, the company just laid off "the majority of the studio as part of unfortunate but necessary changes" to their operations. The team isn't ready to announce what this means for Dauntless or Fae Farms just yet, but they'll reveal that in the coming weeks. For now, the team is encouraging other companies to snag these employees.

Honestly, I personally believe this will spell the end for Dauntless. While there is the possibility that a company can run a successful live service title on a fraction of the staff needed to launch one, Dauntless isn't a successful live service game. In fact, its recent self-inflicted wounds made the entire situation so bad that the team had to release a full "plan" to address the issues. I just don't see a world where that entire plan and the future can be managed with a staff that just had the "majority" of its headcount sent home.

I reached out to the PR team that managed Dauntless communications as recently as late last year only to find out, not all that surprisingly, that they no longer represented the company as of December and had no additional information. I've tried reaching out to the team directly to get more information and will update this post should I hear back.

As of 2023, Dauntless had a little over 300 employees according to their LinkedIn profile. That number was captured in mid-2023 when the company laid off about 9% of its North American staff. Three months later the CEO and COO stepped down and the company then laid off 34 more employees in December of 2023.

Assuming the 300+ number on LinkedIn was accurate back then and about 60 people had been laid off in 2023, then the headcount should be in the neighborhood of 250 people. A "majority" of that number would mean at least 126 people were let go in today's actions. Again, there's wiggle room in those estimated numbers and I'll update this piece if we receive exact numbers.

In the meantime, we'll have to wait for Phoenix Labs to detail what this officially means for Dauntless and Fae Farms.

Our condolences to those impacted by these job cuts.