OtherSide Entertainment: Layoffs

The leadership read

OtherSide Entertainment's second reduction on Thick as Thieves in a single development cycle signals a project under structural pressure, not routine optimization. A second-round cut of 18 — on a studio already carrying the weight of a prior reduction — implies the production model for this title has been reset: scope, delivery timeline, or publisher/funding terms have shifted materially from what the original headcount was built to execute. That kind of sequential reduction typically reflects a gap between the capital committed and the output milestones required to unlock the next tranche, not a simple efficiency move. This is one of 12 layoff signals we have tracked in the last 90 days, and three sit directly in gaming: Sony/Bungie cutting 292 developers across the same week, Combat Waffle Studios reducing staff mid-production on a VR title, and now OtherSide's second pass. The Bungie signal is the most instructive — a major-platform owner absorbing losses on a live-service title even as its platform chief reaffirmed content investment. Together these data points show mid-sized studios on original IP are the most exposed cohort; publisher backing alone is insufficient insulation when production risk accumulates. Companies at this stage of distressed mid-production in the games corridor face rising demand for production leadership with experience managing scope under capital constraint, alongside commercial and partnership operators who can restructure co-development or licensing terms without killing the creative thesis.