Deck Nine Games of Life is Strange: True Colors fame and The Expanse: A Telltale Series has suffered layoffs. Narrative designer Elizabeth Ballou broke the news this weekend, tweeting, “Many of my brilliant, kind, and talented coworkers at Deck Nine were laid off, and my heart is breaking for them.”
She also asked recruiting studios to “please keep an eye out for D9 folks; you won’t regret it.” Interestingly, Ballou later elaborated that those laid off were team leads. “The leads on my team were given swords and chose to fall on them, laying themselves off instead of choosing among the rest of us. I’ve never seen anyone in games do something that metal, and I hope I never have to again.”
Following speculation, Ballou further stated that she only spoke about the leads from her team (which handles narrative) and not “about any other teams or leads.”
So while games on the cusp of release should be fine, it remains to be seen how future projects (like any potential new Life is Strange titles) will fare. Stay tuned in the meantime for updates.
The Expanse: A Telltale Series – Episode 1 is available on July 27th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC via the Epic Games Store. Four more episodes will then launch every two weeks afterwards. DLC is also confirmed for release later, though no further details have been provided.
Today, many of my brilliant, kind, and talented coworkers at Deck Nine were laid off, and my heart is breaking for them. If your game studio is recruiting, please keep an eye out for D9 folks; you won't regret it.
— elizabeth ballou (@lizbetballou) May 19, 2023
To elaborate. The leads on my team were given swords and chose to fall on them, laying themselves off instead of choosing among the rest of us.
I've never seen anyone in games do something that metal and I hope I never have to again. https://t.co/IbKKppNr3O
— elizabeth ballou (@lizbetballou) May 20, 2023
I have seen some rampant speculation floating around so let me say – again – that I am only speaking about leads from *my team* (narrative) and am not talking about any other teams or leads.
— elizabeth ballou (@lizbetballou) May 20, 2023
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