Schell Games, the development studio best known for its work on the three‑dimensional version of the hit party game Among Us and the critically acclaimed I Expect You to Die series, has reportedly initiated a round of staff reductions. The news emerged after several employees posted about the layoffs on LinkedIn, prompting coverage by Game Developer magazine.
According to the report, the first wave of dismissals began on a Friday, marking the first time the company has ever had to let employees go. The studio’s principal engineering manager was among those who shared the development, noting that while they themselves were not part of the layoff list, they were aware that the cuts were taking place. The manager wrote, "Schell Games had their first ever layoffs today," and added a poignant explanation: "This has happened not because of anything you did or did not do. Our industry (and beyond) right now is hemorrhaging." The marketing division also felt the impact.
Marketing director Dwayne Waite Jr. confirmed that members of the marketing team were among those let go, even naming four specific individuals whose positions were eliminated. In addition, the studio’s senior public relations manager posted a longer list that included colleagues from the art, design, and visual‑effects departments, further illustrating the breadth of the reductions. Based on the publicly shared information, it appears that roughly fourteen employees have been affected across various functions.
This figure is notable when contrasted with Schell Games’ own LinkedIn company profile, which lists the studio as employing somewhere between fifty‑one and two hundred people. Even at the lower end of that range, a fourteen‑person reduction represents a significant percentage of the workforce.
One of the affected employees, the senior public relations manager, expressed a mixture of disappointment and pride in a heartfelt LinkedIn post. "I won’t pretend this isn’t a disappointing way to end this chapter, especially after almost six years," they wrote.
"But I’m walking away proud of what I accomplished during my time with the company, and I’m grateful for the people I got to build with." The layoffs are especially striking given the public stance that Schell Games’ founder and CEO, Jesse Schell, has taken on the subject of job security. In a 2024 interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Schell emphasized that the studio separates financial risk from the risk to its employees. He stated, "At the heart of it all is choosing not to put jobs at risk.
We'll put cash at risk when we make a game, but we don't put jobs at risk. Even if our own IP brings in zero dollars, we still haven't put any jobs at risk – we still have a path forward where we'll be able to keep people on.
So, in a lot of ways, it's a choice." Schell’s comments have been widely cited as a guiding principle for the studio’s culture, suggesting that the company would rather absorb financial losses than lay off staff. The current round of cuts, therefore, raises questions about whether external market pressures have become too great to ignore, or whether internal strategic shifts have altered the calculus that previously guided the company’s employment policies. The gaming industry as a whole has been experiencing a turbulent period in recent months. A combination of rising development costs, shifting consumer preferences, and a slowdown in the broader entertainment market has led many publishers and developers to tighten budgets.
Some analysts describe the situation as a "bleeding" of resources across the sector, with smaller studios feeling the strain most acutely. Schell Games, despite its reputation for innovative, narrative‑driven experiences, is not immune to these macro‑economic forces. Industry observers note that layoffs often signal deeper challenges, such as delayed project timelines, reduced funding from publishers, or the need to re‑allocate resources toward higher‑margin projects.
For Schell Games, which has historically balanced contract work for external partners with its own intellectual property, the decision to cut staff could reflect a strategic pivot toward more sustainable, lower‑cost development pipelines. It might also indicate that the studio is reassessing its portfolio, perhaps focusing on fewer, higher‑impact titles rather than spreading resources thin across multiple concurrent projects. The impact on morale cannot be understated. Employees who remain at the studio may experience a heightened sense of uncertainty, while those who have departed will need to navigate a competitive job market that is itself tightening.
Nonetheless, the public statements from both the departing staff and the company’s leadership suggest an effort to maintain a respectful and transparent tone throughout the process. By acknowledging the difficulty of the situation and emphasizing gratitude for the contributions of those leaving, Schell Games appears to be attempting to preserve its community reputation.
As of now, GamesIndustry.biz has reached out to Schell Games for an official comment on the layoffs, but no response has been published. The lack of a direct statement from the studio’s top executives leaves room for speculation about the precise drivers behind the decision and what steps may be taken to stabilize the workforce moving forward. In summary, Schell Games, a studio celebrated for its creative contributions to titles like Among Us 3D and the I Expect You to Die series, has announced its first-ever layoffs, affecting an estimated fourteen employees across engineering, marketing, art, design, and visual effects. The cuts come amid a broader industry downturn that has prompted many developers to reevaluate staffing levels.
While the studio’s founder has historically championed job security, the current economic climate appears to have forced a difficult but, in the eyes of management, necessary course correction. The full ramifications for the studio’s future projects and its remaining team will likely become clearer as the company navigates the aftermath of this unprecedented move.