Report: Brace Yourself Games lays off half its staff

Layoffs have reportedly taken place at developer Brace Yourself Games. One ex-staffer recently posted about their last day at the Vancouver developer, and former senior producer Crystal Savin further alleged that there's been a "50 percent cut in workforce."

According to LinkedIn, the studio originally employed 43 staffers. If the 50 percent reduction is true, that would put its current staff at a little over 20 people. 

Brace Yourself Games made its presence known with 2015's Crypt of the Necrodancer, and the studio has since made steps to become a larger player in the indie scene. Last year, it announced that a shift to publishing titles from other indie developers, albeit only a "small handful" at a time. 

As a developer, its most recent games were Industries of Titan and Phantom Brigade (developed by Tetragon Works, who it merged with in 2018). Publishing-wise, the studio released Danil Kalyupa's Godless in late 2022. 

For 2023, Brace Yourself plans to publish two titles: Cobalt Core from Rocket Rat, and Shattered Journal's Super Rat Boat Together.

Game Developer has reached out to Brace Yourself and will update when a response is given.

Update: A representative for Brace Yourself Games confirmed that "a portion" of the company's staff were laid off. The representative did not provide a hard number on who all was let go. 

Because of the reductions, unannounced internal projects have also been shelved. But the representative confirmed that Crypt of the Necrodancer: Synchrony will continue development, as will Rift of the Necrodancer and Phantom Brigade. 

Additionally, one unannounced project will continue to be developed, and games under the Brace Yourself publishing label are still receive "full support." 

"We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all Brace Yourself Games employees for their significant contributions to our games and our company," the developer wrote. "They will be missed."