Some staff at Eternal Strands and ex-Ubisoft devs Yellow Brick Games report they've been laid off
Yellow Brick Games, developer of Eternal Strands, has reportedly begun laying off staff following the studio’s sole game release in January 2025.
Yellow Brick Games, the studio behind the action-adventure RPG Eternal Strands, has reportedly initiated layoffs, though the full extent remains undisclosed. The studio, co-founded in 2020 by former Dragon Age creative Mike Laidlaw and ex-Ubisoft developers, released its first game in January 2025 and followed with a free DLC expansion in April. LinkedIn posts indicate several key team members, including senior artists and engineers, have been affected, but the studio has not publicly confirmed the scope or reasons for the cuts.
The reported layoffs include Senior Environment/Hard Surface Artist Derian McCrea, Graphics Engineer Adam Clapsaddle, Software Programmer Rebecca Bélanger, QA Lead Jessica Chapados Arseneault, and Senior Level Designer Julien Tonsuso. It is unclear whether additional staff have been let go beyond those who have publicly shared their job losses. Yellow Brick Games has not issued an official statement regarding the layoffs, and RPS has reached out to the studio for comment.
This development follows recent layoffs at Ninja Theory and Supermassive Games, continuing a trend of widespread job cuts across the games industry. Microsoft has also confirmed plans to lay off 3,200 workers, including staff at Ninja Theory and nearly half of World’s Edge, the studio overseeing Age of Empires. Other major studios, such as CD Projekt Red, Epic, and Ubisoft, have also reduced staff in 2026.
The layoffs at Yellow Brick Games mark another instance of staff reductions in an industry facing persistent financial pressures. While the studio’s future remains uncertain, the move underscores the broader challenges facing game developers amid ongoing restructuring and cost-cutting measures across the sector.