Gravity Well, the independent studio founded by former Apex Legends developers, has laid off more than 40 staff after it failed to secure new funding.
According to a statement from the studio’s leadership, Gravity Well lost its funding this summer and has since been looking for a new partner. That search has not paid off yet, and the studio said it had been forced to say goodbye to “the majority of our team.”
The statement said staff were told about the situation as it unfolded and knew layoffs were possible if the money could not be found. “We take it seriously that the team has stuck with us throughout this process, hopeful that we could find a solution before funds ran out,” it read. “We are truly sad that we couldn’t get it done in time to keep the team together.”
Gravity Well will carry on with a much smaller team while it keeps searching for funding. However, the studio admitted that “given the current state of the industry our future is uncertain.”
A message to departing staff
The statement was signed by CEO and Executive Producer Drew McCoy, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Jon ‘Slothy’ Shiring and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Mon Saetern. Part of it was addressed to the developers who had lost their jobs. “Know that you are appreciated and that this isn’t a result of your skillset or ability,” it said. “We are heartbroken to be sending you out into this job market.”
The studio’s leadership also asked other companies to consider any former Gravity Well developers who apply for roles. “They are amazing and would make any development team stronger,” the statement read, adding that the team would “deeply miss being able to work alongside them every day.”
Gravity Well’s anti-crunch pitch
Gravity Well was co-founded in 2020 by Drew and Slothy. Both previously worked at Respawn Entertainment, where they worked on the Titanfall games and Apex Legends.
On its website, the studio said it wanted to ‘shake things up in AAA game dev’, AAA being the industry’s term for big-budget games. It also called itself anti-crunch, a stance against the long stretches of heavy overtime that are common before a game’s release. Staff were offered flexible paid time off (PTO), flexible working arrangements and what the studio called ‘generous health benefits’.
Profit-sharing was another part of the pitch, with the studio saying that developers ‘deserve significant profit-sharing on the games that they make’. Gravity Well also planned to stay small. It argued that larger studios move more slowly and said its team would peak at 80 to 85 people.
