Dead by Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive is laying off “up to” 95 of its employees, most of them based in Montreal, in its second round of layoffs this year.
In a press release shared by the company today, Behaviour explained that the layoffs were driven by a need to “focus on its historical strengths.” In the last five years, the company said, it has grown from 575 employees to 1,300 individuals. However, due to “unprecedented competition,” Behaviour is undergoing “multiple strategic changes” to better distinguish its different business divisions.
It’s doing this by laying off “up to” 95 individuals across multiple departments, 70 of whom are being laid off from the company’s Montreal office. In January, Behaviour laid off 45 individuals from its Montreal office, citing “changing market conditions.”
However, Behaviour has also been on a bit of a spending spree of late. Just this past March, it acquired Fly Studio in Montreal. In 2023, the company acquired both SockMoney Studios and Codeglue, and spun up a new studio in Cornwall. And before that in 2022, Behaviour acquired Midwinter Entertainment, and opened a new office in Toronto.
Behaviour has stated that the development of Dead by Daylight will not be impacted by the layoffs. Just yesterday, Dead by Daylight got its official Dungeons & Dragons chapter release.
This continues an ongoing trend of industry layoffs that’s been steady for nearly two years, resulting in over 10,000 individuals losing their jobs in 2023, and an additional 10,000 layoffs in just the first half of this year. Though largely attributed to pandemic overspending, developers say the reasons are far more varied and complex, and have a dramatic and painful impact on individuals.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
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