Crypt of the NecroDancer dev Brace Yourself Games has laid off half of its staff

Brace Yourself Games have confirmed to have laid off half of the studio’s staff in the past few days. As reported by the outlet known as Game Developer, it has been observed that former senior producer Crystal Savin is one of the affected individuals, taking to Twitter to share the news. 

“With a (very) heavy heart, I am announcing that I was recently impacted by a 50% cut in workforce at my studio after only being at the company for 4 months,” says Savin before letting it be known they’re looking for future employment.

Brace Yourself Games was founded in 2013, with their first title being a breakout hit in the rhythm game Crypt of the Necrodancer, later inspiring a similar title in Cadence of Hyrule, with a similar gameplay experience but under the IP of The Legend of Zelda. What’s worth noting is this doesn’t appear to be a studio that’s winding down by any means. Cobalt Core and Super Rat Boat Together are two titles the team is slated to publish later in 2023, while Rift of the Necrodancer, a Necrodancer spin-off is in the works.

The fifty-per cent cut of the studio would put the staff count of Brace Yourself Games down to a little over 20, according to an original 43 hired members listed on LinkedIn.