Something Wicked Games has reportedly laid off “most of” its staff, according to a handful of people impacted.
The studio, which was founded in 2022 by Fallout 76 lead Jeff Gardiner and Obsidian veteran Charles Staples, is currently working on its debut game Wyrdsong, described as an RPG with preternatural and occult themes.
As reported by Game Developer, on Friday, Something Wicked’s senior animator Eric Webb said the studio “had to lay off most of [its] staff”, himself included. He called the news “heartbreaking”.
While Webb did not elaborate further on how many have been impacted by these layoffs, others affected include graphics programmer Andrew Woloszyn – who confirmed he had been “caught up in the layoffs at Something Wicked” on his LinkedIn – and lead narrative designer Jessica Sliwinski, who said she is now looking for work. Something Wicked only announced Woloszyn’s appointment at the company in January.
It’s unclear exactly how many staff are impacted by these layoffs beyond these posts. Eurogamer has contacted Something Wicked for confirmation.
At the least, Will Shen, who served as the lead quest designer on Starfield and joined Something Wicked Games last year, for now appears to be unaffected by the layoffs, with the developer’s social media feeds still suggesting he will give a talk at GDC later today.