March 28, 2024

Best Fiends developer Seriously has been shut down by its parent company, Playtika.
According to Mobilegamer.biz, the mobile developer’s office in Helsinki was closed on September 30, with all 120 employees let go, after its LA office also shut down earlier this year.
Production of Seriously’s games has been moved to Israel and Poland to other Playtika studios.
The company confirmed the closure in a statement, saying: “As part of an ongoing evaluation of its global operations, Playtika will close its Helsinki operations site, consolidating the management of the Best Fiends game into its Israel and Poland offices. We will work closely with our local employees to ensure a smooth and compassionate transition.”
Sources have told Mobilegamer.biz that the studio shutting down was the “result of disagreements between owner Playtika and Seriously staff and leadership,” including conflicts over Playtika allegedly wanting to implement “more aggressive monetisation and pressure for players to purchase” and Seriously not being given the opportunity to “explore new games.”
Elsewhere in the article, sources described Playtika’s leadership as “ruthless” and “impatient.”
Playtika laid off 250 employees as it closed its Montreal, Los Angeles, and London offices this summer.
The company had acquired Seriously in 2019.
Marie Dealessandri
Features Editor
Marie Dealessandri joined GamesIndustry.biz in 2019 to head its Academy section. A journalist since 2012, she started in games in 2015 at B2B magazine MCV. She can be found (rarely) tweeting @mariedeal, usually on a loop about Baldur’s Gate and the Dead Cells soundtrack.
Advertisement
Subscribe to GamesIndustry.biz newsletters for the latest industry news.
GI Daily
A roundup of the day's most popular articles.
GI Market Report
Analysis and data about the global games industry.
Gruby announces Tencent as its newest minority shareholder
The investment is intended to expand the games company, meanwhile its first title is slated to launch this month
By Jeffrey Rousseau
US labor board says Activision retaliated against unionizing QA
NLRB says limiting pay raises to non-union QA testers was in retaliation for union activity
By Brendan Sinclair
Supercell to end development on Everdale
Studio launched the game in 2021 with aims to create a "peaceful" social builder
By Danielle Partis
Keywords Studios further expands in Australia
The firm's two new offices joins its subsidiaries Wicked Witch, Mighty Games, and Tantalus Melbourne
By Jeffrey Rousseau
Gruby announces Tencent as its newest minority shareholder
The investment is intended to expand the games company, meanwhile its first title is slated to launch this month
By Jeffrey Rousseau
US labor board says Activision retaliated against unionizing QA
NLRB says limiting pay raises to non-union QA testers was in retaliation for union activity
By Brendan Sinclair
Supercell to end development on Everdale
Studio launched the game in 2021 with aims to create a "peaceful" social builder
By Danielle Partis
Keywords Studios further expands in Australia
The firm's two new offices joins its subsidiaries Wicked Witch, Mighty Games, and Tantalus Melbourne
By Jeffrey Rousseau
The resource for people who make and sell games.
Copyright © 2022 Gamer Network Limited, a ReedPop company.
All rights reserved. No part of this site or its content may be reproduced without the permission of the copyright holder.

source

About Author

Leave a Reply