Report: "Small" layoffs at Plaion as it retires Deep Silver and other publishers

Per a new report from GamesIndustry, Plaion plans to restructure its game publishing business. A representative told the outlet that the company (formerly known as Koch Media) is undergoing a restructure as part of "simplifying our publishing operations."

Going along with that reported restructuring will be layoffs across the company. But that same representative said the number of cut jobs would be minimal and affect only "five or six" out of the 2,000 staffers at the company.

According to a slide reviewed by GamesIndustry, subsidiary labels Deep Silver, Matter and Ravenscourt will be consolidated into one entity. Going forward, games from those three publishers will go under the Plaion banner, with the alleged plan to make "fewer titles at higher quality." 

Of the three named publishers, Deep Silver is the most well known. The company has published franchises such as the Metro and Saints Row series, and more recently Dambuster's Dead Island 2. Ravenscourt publishes the family-friendly Let's Sing franchise and Road 96: Mile 0. 

Founded in 2021, Prime Matter is the most recent game publishing label. Future releases include Starbreeze Studios' Payday 3 and Nightdive Studios' System Shock Remake. 

Plaion's representative later told GamesIndustry these changes would take place over the next 12 months. And even then, the representative acknowledged that it's possible future games will release under those respective labels for "the next couple of years." 

Game Developer has reached out to Plaion for confirmation, and will update when a response is given.