Polish developer People Can Fly, which is perhaps known best for such games as Outriders and Gears of War Judgement, has announced they are suspending or scaling back on projects due to what CEO Sebastian Wojciechowski has referred to as “external market pressures.”
In a lengthy statement posted to X(formerly Twitter) from the company’s official account, Wojciechowski announced the suspension of Project Victoria, scaling down on Project Bifrost, as well as restructuring several internal teams. The decision follows the cancelation of another project back in April, named Project Dagger, which was set to be an action-adventure game that was co-developed and published by Grand Theft Auto 6 publisher Take-Two Interactive before the publisher pulled out in 2022.
As part of these cutbacks, it was announced that People Can Fly will be either suspending or terminating 120 employees, adding to the already high count of jobs lost in 2024, with Life is Strange developer Deck Nine having also announced layoffs several days ago.
Wojciechowski went on to write:
This action became necessary as external market pressures persisted beyond our forecasts. The video game market is still evolving, and we have to adjust with where things are today. We are redoubling our efforts with new work for hire engagements and focusing on the development of a single independent game.
People Can Fly had seven projects in development as of July 2023, with that number now being reduced on the back of this announcement. Projects that were not part of this announcement include Project Gemini, which would see the company team up with Outrider publisher Square Enix yet again. Another, Project Red, is still in the “Concept stage” but appears to be unaffected by this decision.
People Can Fly’s most recent outing was the VR port of their 2011 title Bulletstorm released earlier this year to mixed reviews. It was released for both the Meta Quest and the PSV2 in conjunction with Incuvo. The earliest any of these projects are set to release is 2026 when Project Gemini is slated.
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