Summary

Tequila Works laid off a few employees after canceling an unannounced game, focusing on one title moving forward.
The studio, with around 160 employees prior, likely expanded after Tencent's investment in 2022.
Game development studios like Tequila Works are faced with industry-wide layoffs, prompting calls for unionization.

Madrid-based independent game developer Tequila Works has been affected by layoffs after it canceled an unannounced game. Known for highly praised indie games like Deadlight, The Sexy Brutale, and Rime, Tequila Works is one of the more decorated indie dev studios in the industry. The team also developed 2017's The Invisible Hours, a Google Stadia title in Gylt, and had most recently partnered with Riot Games for Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story, which released last year.

It's been an unfortunate reality that game development studios large and small have been suffering mass layoffs over the past year and a half. Major companies like Embracer Group, Unity Software, Electronic Arts, even platform holders Sony and Microsoft have suffered layoffs in the thousands. Earlier this year, Xbox went as far as to close four of its Bethesda studios, including Dishonored developer Arkane Austin and its only Japanese studio, Hi-Fi Rush maker Tango Gameworks. Luckily, Tango survived with the help of Korean publisher Krafton.

The most recent studio to be affected by these industry-wide troubles, Tequila Works took to LinkedIn to express some bad news. The studio notified its followers that in recently canceling an unannounced game, a "small number of roles" associated with the project have been eliminated. Tequila Works went on to mention this as part of a studio restructuring, and added that it'll be shifting its focus to a single title moving forward.

Tequila Works Cancels Project, Eliminates "Small Number of Roles"

It's unknown how many employees were cut from Tequila Works as part of its game cancelation, but the studio had been home to around 160 employees prior. The studio likely grew in numbers after investment from Tencent in 2022. It's also not known how many projects the studio had in the works before this cancelation, but judging by the LinkedIn post, it seems like Tequila was working on two games simultaneously, the canceled project and the one it's now shifting its focus toward. What the game is and how long it's been in development are two unknowns that likely won't be answered anytime soon.

Hopefully, those impacted by Tequila Works' layoffs will be able to get back on their feet soon. There's no knowing when the industry will once again find stability, though some work is being done to unionize at companies like Bethesda Game Studios, CD Projekt Red, Raven Software, Avalanche Studios, and Sega of America. Many of these unionized studios are larger companies; it would be good to see more smaller independent studios like Tequila Works band together to protect themselves as well.

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