It was reported by several places earlier this week that Toys For Bob, the creators of Crash Bandicoot and Spyro Reignited, might be shutting down after parent company Activision laid off 162 people. However, it has emerged that they will not be closing their doors entirely.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the layoffs affect 86 people in Novato and 76 in Foster City. The Novato address matches the address of Toys For Bob’s offices. The editor of the gaming news site Seasoned Gaming has stated on Twitter/X that Toys For Bob has closed down its offices and will continue to work remotely with its remaining staff.
Correction: I deleted my prior post about Toys for Bob because it was seemingly incorrect.
It seems the physical office was shut down and some employees were let go. But the studio itself is still active with a majority staff of remote workers.
Apologies!
Now… pic.twitter.com/cU76imWedY
— Ains (@Porshapwr) February 8, 2024
A separate Twitter user, Jez Corden (Managing Editor of Windows Central) has also received confirmation that “Toys For Bob is not closing down.”
Insider Gaming reported last month that Sledgehammer Games, known for their work on the Call of Duty franchise, was also closing down its offices and moving to remote working – this seems to be connected to the 76 layoffs in Foster City.
This movement from large urban office locations to remote-first working could be a key way game companies look to save money in the face of industry instability and mass layoffs.
Games Industry Layoffs
The games industry has been in turmoil recently with mass layoffs hitting multiple companies. Microsoft announced that 1,900 people would be affected by layoffs despite its $67 billion deal with Activision Blizzard. Unity cut as much as 25% of its workforce in January, and EA cut jobs in Codemasters.
Amidst the uncertainty, quotes late Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata made in 2013 have reemerged. In Japan, it is illegal for companies to make layoffs except in very specific circumstances, so Iwata took a 50% pay cut, with other board members having 20% pay cuts, to ensure they could continue to pay staff.
Featured image credit: Toys For Bob
