AppLovin Announces Further Job Cuts, Affecting 97 Employees Including Machine Zone CEO

AppLovin has undertaken a new round of layoffs, resulting in the loss of 97 jobs, including a significant portion of the staff at its subsidiary studio Machine Zone, as well as the CEO of the studio. According to WARN filings in California, these layoffs took effect on March 21. This move follows an earlier redundancy round in January 2025, which saw 89 employees lose their jobs. It marks the seventh WARN notification filed by AppLovin since June 2022, with previous layoffs affecting 120 jobs in November 2024 and 126 in October. The CEO and design director of Machine Zone, the studio behind notable mobile games such as Game of War: Fire Age and Mobile Strike, are among those impacted, with the CTO position having been eliminated in a prior round of layoffs. A former employee indicated that 'most of Machine Zone' was shut down. While AppLovin has not publicly commented on the layoffs, the company is actively recruiting for new positions. The first quarter of 2025 has seen significant job losses in the industry, with over 1600 developers affected by cuts and closures at various studios, including Freejam, Splash Damage, and Ubisoft, among others.