The closure of several 505 Games offices may affect a handful of employees in addition to the larger layoffs that took place in November 2023.
Late in 2023, 505 Games parent company Digital Bros. announced plans to cut 30 percent of its workforce in a new restructuring plan. With that plan still underway, it seems some of the offices at 505 Games are being retired as the studio withdraws its presence from Spain, France, and Germany. The alleged closure of these offices could affect around 10 additional employees with the company.
The supposed closure of 505 Games offices in Germany, Spain, and France was reported via Gamereactor. According to the report, these offices will be shut down as Digital Bros. continues the restructuring it began in November 2023 when the company announced it would be cutting 30 percent of its overall workforce, including an undisclosed number of employees at 505 Games at the time, as reported by GamesIndustry.biz. With the alleged closure of Germany, Spain, and France offices, around 10 employees at 505 are said to be affected on top of November’s announced layoffs.
This could be considered a bit of unnerving writing on the wall for 505 Games. In addition to Digital Bros.’ restructuring affecting employee headcount, 505 Games just released ownership of the Control IP to Remedy Entertainment, giving the developer full control over the Control brand as it pertains to Remedy’s Alan Wake universe. On top of these closures, it looks like 505 has been a select focus of cost-cutting during the Digital Bros. restructuring.
While official word and expanded details on these closures is still forthcoming from Digital Bros. and/or 505 Games, it continues to look like unstable footing for the latter this week. Stay tuned as we continue to follow this story for additional updates and details.
TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.