Funcom fires after record success of Dune: Awakening

At Funcom, a studio based in Oslo and owned by the Chinese giant Tencent since 2020, announced that it will lay off employees as part of an internal restructuring. The announcement comes at a time of notable commercial success, turning the studio's growth into a personnel management and stability issue.

Funcom justified the layoffs as part of the "transition from development to long-term operation" and in preparation for a console release next year. The studio did not disclose the exact impact on the number of affected employees. Funcom stated:

"The game has shown incredible potential, and the right path to follow is to focus our internal resources on launching new content. Unfortunately, this also means having to say goodbye to beloved colleagues."

The process raises questions due to the undeniable success of its most recent game. Dune: Awakening became the best-selling game of all time for Funcom and was the biggest launch in the company's 32-year history. The title reached one million players around two weeks after its release for PC in June. The game is scheduled to be released on PS5 and Xbox next year.

The restructuring is taking place under Tencent. Yong-yi Zhu, VP of Tencent Games, had stated that Funcom had never "launched a game of this scale" and needed technical support from Tencent to ensure that "everything was stable" and could scale. The layoffs align with Tencent's strategy to reduce investment in certain areas, as Zhu indicated that, while there are no plans to "withdraw", the market may see a "reduction in investment in certain areas" due to "industry realities."

Funcom indicated that they are working to find new opportunities for those affected and asked for understanding, committing to not make any more comments. Funcom stated:

"Our focus now is to provide these team members with the support and guidance they need, and we ask for your understanding at this time, as we will not make any more comments during this process."

The record success of Dune: Awakening, the best-selling game for Funcom in 32 years, is overshadowed by the layoffs of employees as part of a Funcom restructuring. The decision, under the ownership of Tencent, raises questions about the company's resource management, especially in light of the pressure to focus resources before the release on PS5 and Xbox next year.