Ustwo Games makes layoffs to facilitate 'PC-first' pivot
Monument Valley developer Ustwo Games has made four people redundant. Game Developer understands the layoffs were made to facilitate the UK studio's transition into a PC-first company.
One senior artist who worked at Ustwo for almost a decade was impacted by the cuts, according to a (now-deleted) post on Bluesky.
Earlier this year, Ustwo Games CEO Maria Sayans told Mobilegamer.biz the company intended to transform into a PC-first, multiplatform developer after becoming largely known for crafting premium mobile titles such as Monument Valley and Desta: The Memories Between.
Many of its video games debuted exclusively on platforms such as Apple Arcade and Netflix Games in recent years. The company, however, has pedigree on PC and consoles—having previously ported titles such as Assemble with Care, Monument Valley 3, and Alba: A Wildlife Adventure to a range of platforms.
Now, it intends to double down on the wider hardware ecosystem to drive success.
"What has changed more recently is shifting our focus to 'PC first' in our future titles, rather than mobile first," said Sayans, speaking to Mobilegamer in January. "This stems from a realisation that there is a ceiling to how much you can do on PC and console when you are perceived as a mobile-first game, and that you make compromises both in product design and go-to-market strategies when mobile is your lead platform."
Sayans said Ustwo became "one step removed" from audiences on other platforms after partnering with the likes of Netflix and Apple, and explained the studio has begun weaning itself off that dependancy.
