FuturLab has recently announced a reduction of its staff, with seven members of the team losing their positions after the company decided to cancel a development effort that was unrelated to its flagship title, PowerWash Simulator. The decision, which was communicated by CEO Kirsty Rigden in an interview with the outlet This Week in Video Games, was framed as a financially driven move. Rigden explained that the project was halted while it was still in the pre‑production phase because internal projections indicated that the cost of completing the game would exceed any realistic revenue it could generate. "Continuing with it wouldn't have been a sensible decision," she said, underscoring the studio’s commitment to fiscal responsibility and to protecting the long‑term health of the business.
In the same statement, Rigden emphasized that FuturLab remains fully devoted to delivering the best possible sequel to PowerWash Simulator, while also continuing to experiment with new concepts for future titles. She noted that this strategic focus required a reassessment of the studio’s future plans and resource needs. "This is awful as these are people who are super talented and many of whom have been with us a long time, and I really really appreciate them," Rigden added, acknowledging the difficulty of the decision. She described the layoffs as a painful but necessary step, arguing that making hard choices early on would ultimately safeguard the studio’s stability and ability to innovate.
When pressed about whether the seven employees were let go through formal redundancies, Rigden declined to provide specifics, citing confidentiality and legal constraints surrounding the process. "I’m unable to divulge any further details about a confidential and legally binding process," she said, leaving the exact nature of the termination ambiguous. According to anonymous sources cited by This Week in Video Games, the cancellation of the side project was announced by Rigden in late June. The project in question had reportedly been under development for between two and three years, suggesting that a substantial amount of time and effort had already been invested.
One source claimed that, after the cancellation, the staff who had been working on the project were left without new assignments for several weeks, creating a period of uncertainty and inactivity. The seven individuals who were ultimately let go were said to have been made redundant in July.
Sources indicated that managers and team leads were not informed in advance that their direct reports would be departing, nor were they given an explanation for the sudden change. This lack of communication appears to have been part of a broader effort to manage the situation discreetly.
In August, a meeting was reportedly held during which FuturLab’s Chief Operating Officer, Chris Mehers, announced that the studio was undergoing a restructuring process. In a subsequent gathering, employees were instructed to avoid using the term "redundancy" when referring to the departing staff. Instead, they were asked to label those who left as "the leavers," a euphemistic phrase that the sources described as an attempt to soften the perception of job loss. The instructions also included a reassurance that the departure of the seven employees would not affect the development of PowerWash Simulator 2.
According to the reports, staff were told that the individuals who left were not required for the sequel and that their exit would have no impact on the game's progress. Moreover, managers and team leads were allegedly excluded from the decision‑making process regarding which employees would be let go. This exclusion was purportedly intended to shield senior staff from guilt and to reduce the emotional strain on the affected employees, who would otherwise have faced prolonged uncertainty about their job security during the two‑week process.
Earlier coverage by GamesIndustry.biz had featured an interview with Rigden in which she discussed the studio’s future direction, including the now‑canceled project. In that conversation, she highlighted FuturLab’s habit of working on two games simultaneously and expressed excitement about a new, unnamed title. "We don’t want to just be a PowerWash studio… we’re always thinking about, ‘What else could we do?’" she said, indicating that diversification remains a core strategic goal for the company.
The situation at FuturLab reflects a broader trend in the video‑game industry, where mid‑size studios often juggle multiple projects to mitigate risk but must also make hard choices when a title does not meet financial expectations. The use of euphemistic language such as "the leavers" underscores the sensitivity surrounding layoffs and the desire of management to manage morale and public perception.
While the exact legal classification of the terminations remains unclear, the company’s emphasis on protecting its core franchise and exploring new ideas suggests that FuturLab aims to emerge from this restructuring phase with a clearer focus and a more sustainable development pipeline. Overall, the layoffs serve as a reminder of the precarious nature of game development, where even talented, long‑standing team members can find themselves vulnerable when a project is deemed financially untenable.
The company’s leadership has framed the decision as a protective measure for the future, yet the human impact on the seven affected employees and the broader studio culture remains a point of concern for industry observers.