The bad news just keep coming for developer Singularity 6. After a wave of layoffs in April, it seems that more layoffs are now on the horizon. Despite this, they managed to earn better user ratings with Palia after a rather mediocre start on Steam.
How has Palia developed since its Steam release? The charming cozy MMO struggled with mixed reviews at its Steam launch in March 2024. Back then, the management of Singularity 6 reacted with layoffs: 35 percent of the staff (49 employees) were affected.
Nearly two months after the Steam release, the ratings from Steam users look significantly better. In the past 30 days, 82 percent of the 2,437 reviewers reached a positive conclusion. Overall, the online adventure now stands at “Mostly Positive.”
However, this positive development on Steam has not impacted the player numbers. The peak at launch with 11,900 concurrent players could not be reached again. Instead, over the past six weeks, they managed to maintain a population level of 7,000 to 8,000 concurrent players during prime time.
Palia looks adorable and invites relaxation. Here is the Steam trailer:
The thanks? Layoffs!
What is known about the recent layoffs? With the current player numbers, it seems that Palia continues to fall short of the studio management’s expectations. According to Nicole Carpenter from Polygon, there seems to be another wave of layoffs coming at Singularity 6. The journalist writes on X:
“The Palia developer Singularity 6 is laying off about 36 more employees (or 40 percent of the remaining staff?) just over a month after the layoff of 49 employees in April. There was also a smaller round of layoffs in September 2023.”
The question mark behind the size of the workforce arises because two sources told Carpenter that some employees voluntarily left after the layoffs in April. There has been no official comment from the studio so far.
An MMO like Animal Crossing
What kind of game is this? Palia is being developed by an indie studio made up of gaming veterans from Blizzard and Riot Games. They have taken inspiration from games like Animal Crossing and want to create an MMO out of it:
- You move into a house with your character and then live directly next to other players, but also next to NPCs with rich backstories. You can build relationships with them.
- You can expect more of a shared world than a classic MMO world.
- You can decorate your house with thousands of items.
- In the game, you will engage in various activities, including cooking, tending to a garden farm, or catching insects.
- If you want, you can create a community with friends and gather resources together. Cooking tasks can be shared among several players.
As a free-to-play game, Palia monetizes through its in-game shop. There are cosmetic sets available that can be quite expensive (ranging from about 18 to nearly 50 euros). In exchange, you receive free access to a cozy pastime that requires zero commitment and invites relaxation. More information can be found here: New MMORPG is completely without combat, yet is successful – is free to play
