Around 70 people have left the company.

H1Z1 developer Daybreak Games has confirmed the studio has had to let go another round of employees. It’s the second time this year the studio has enforced redundancies amongst its staff after the battle royale game went free to play. Daybreak hasn’t specified the precise number of employees that have left the studio though has suggested it’s a move to strengthen the studio in the long-term.

The news was announced late on Friday, with Gamasutra among one of a handful of outlets that Daybreak confirmed the layoffs too. The company didn’t detail exactly how many people had lost their jobs in the layoffs, though John Smedley the founder of Daybreak Games, suggested that the number was around 70. In a tweet that’s now been deleted, Smedly wrote that “70 people is a lot.” Smedley is no longer with Daybreak Games, having moved on to a studio lead role with Amazon’s game studio, but was left taken aback by the series of actions within the company, saying that the layoffs had left him “really, really angry.”

Daybreak hasn’t explained why the layoffs came about, only releasing a statement that laid out a general announcement of the layoffs and how it affects the future of the company. The statement reads, “We are optimizing our structure to ensure we best position ourselves for continued success in the years to come. This effort has required us to make some changes within the organization and we are doing everything we can to support those impacted in this difficult time.” And goes on to say that as Daybreak “look to improve efficiencies and realign resources, we remain focused on supporting our existing games and development of our future titles.”

The news has rallied those in the games industry together once again. With devs sharing open positions at companies using #GameJobs to spread the opportunities. We here at GGS Gamer also wish all those affected the best of luck and hope they all find another position quickly.

(Via PC Gamer)