As with other developers in the last several months, Team17 is laying off staff as part of a larger company restructure. The Worms developer is facing”tens of redundancies” (Eurogamerreportedaround 50 employees), and primarily inthe QA department. It’s claimed the developer will outsource for QA going forward.
Digital teamCEO Michael Pattison “amicably parted ways”with Team17, according to a spokesperson. Pattison began his position in October 2021 after a previous tenure at PlayStation. With his exit, commercial operations director Ann Hurley is expected to take over as CEO going forward.
In a statement confirming its “period of consultation,” Team17 noted its two subsidiaries, Astragon and Storytoys, would be unaffected by this restructuring.
A brief history of Team17’s recent events
Earlier in the year, Team17’s internal teams saw redundancies, particularly in its art and design departments. The developer has also seen several CEOsstep downor come on board throughout the year, and was the subject of a 2022 report detailing poor working conditions and low pay.
That same year, Team17 had announced (and a day later, reversed course on)“environmentally friendly”WormsNFTs.
Following those allegations, Pattison pledged to “pull things around” and “takean extensive review of how we build a business that better supports its employees.”
The Team17 layoffs come two months after it publishedBlasphemous 2from The Game Kitchen.