NetherRealm Studios, the developer behind the Mortal Kombat series, is reportedly facing multiple layoffs after select staff members from the studios’ mobile team shared posts on LinkedIn announcing that they have been put out of work (thanks, Eurogamer).
The NetherRealm mobile team seems to be the most affected by the layoffs, after the branch was reportedly shut down despite working on multiple active live-service projects including Mortal Kombat Mobile, Injustice 2, and Mortal Kombat Onslaught. Tony Lazzara, a quality assurance analyst, wrote “Netherrealm’s mobile team was shut down. A ton of very talented people were put out of work”.
Mobile UX designer Rachel Walaski was one of those affected, posting to the job site, “I am quite sad to announce that I was one of the mobile team members who is being laid-off from Netherrealm Studios”. They described their colleagues as “incredibly talented, passionate, and collaborative individuals also in the same situation, suddenly looking for a new job”.
Another quality assurance analyst Samantha Edward shared the same sentiment: “Every single person I’ve worked with on that team is an amazing collaborator,” they wrote, “We’re all probably in shock, but a lot of us will be posting something like this today or soon”.
Elizabeth Ramirez, an animator at the studio, also confirmed that they had been laid off following the closure. “It hurts me to announce I’ve been laid off from NetherRealm Studios after about 10 years of working there,” they posted on LinkedIn, “I will be seeking new opportunities as an Animator for games or film”.
An estimated 50 people have been put out of work by the closure of the mobile team according to Insider-Gaming. Neither NetherRealm nor its owner Warner Bros. Games have commented on the layoffs at the time of writing.
This latest round of layoffs follows far too many similar stories this year from big studios like Microsoft and Sony to smaller teams like Tales of Kenzera: ZAU developer Surgent Studios.
