The American branch of Korea publisher Nexon has laid off employees after their most important new game Lawbreakers has disappointed. However, it is said that this is not the reason for the layoffs. They simply want to realign themselves with the promising titles and hope for more success in the future.
GamesIndustry reports that the South Korean publisher Nexon has restructured its US branch. They want to “reset the organization to ensure a deeper focus on the most promising titles,” it is said. Unfortunately, it has become necessary to lay off some people.
However, the Nexon spokesperson reassures: the number of layoffs is not significant in relation to the entire workforce.
Allegedly 20% of the workforce of the US branch laid off
However, GamesIndustry claims to have learned from a source that one-fifth of all employees were laid off. It reportedly affects some “familiar faces” like community managers. They are posting on Twitter that January 31 was their last day at Nexon and are now looking for new jobs or reorienting themselves.
Observers believe that the layoffs are related to the flop of Lawbreakers, but Nexon does not want to know anything about it. The layoffs are independent of the financial performance of Lawbreakers, says the spokesperson.
The restructuring aims to sharpen Nexon America’s focus and lay the groundwork for long-term success. The company is financially stable, growing, and will continue to report record revenues, it is said.
The layoffs are meant to ensure that Nexon achieves the same success in the West as it has in Asia.
Lawbreakers seen as a commercial flop
Lawbreakers was Nexon’s attempt to establish a fast-paced, competitive shooter in the West. However, that failed. In the business report, Nexon has since written off Lawbreakers.
They chalk it up to a learning experience and believe in hindsight that they chose the wrong time for the release: Nexon seems to feel that Lawbreakers was overshadowed by shooters like Destiny 2, Call of Duty: WW2, or PUBG.
Many players have reported that they are waiting for a Free2Play transition for Lawbreakers. Apparently, the market was not really waiting for the game. Because Lawbreakers has struggled with weak player numbers since its launch. For a competitive shooter, that is a large, self-reinforcing problem.
Mein MMO thinks: If you lay off people after a flop but say “That has nothing to do with the flop, we just want more success in the future,” then there might be something “Lost in Translation”, but the message is being received.
More on the topic:
Publisher disappointed with LawBreakers – blamed on CoD, Steam & Destiny 2
