Humble Games, a publisher known for focusing more on indie games, recently laid off all of its staff in a stunning move that the company barely explained. Months later, it was announced that the indie publisher’s parent company, Ziff Davis, had hired the fired staff members. Let’s dive into this strange turn of events and what it means for Humble Games and its staff.
Humble Games Layoffs
Humble Games is a publishing company that IGN owns. It is a digital storefront/publisher, much like Steam, that mainly focuses on selling indie games. Their mission statement, in part, reads that they are a “small dedicated remote team bound by our love of games and company values; Humble Games is the result of a shared passion to support indie developers, deliver top-quality content to gamers around the world, and continue the Humble mission to be a force for good in the industry and across the globe.” The company also advertises that it gives developers more money than other publishers. If customers purchase through them, they will receive a download code but can know that they have supported the developers more by allowing them to make even more money.
This is something that the average indie game enthusiast is passionate about. However, the publisher has recently been in the news for strange reasons. In July 2024, the company laid off 36 employees, including the entire staff. A former employee had posted on their personal LinkedIn that stated, “At 9 a.m. this morning, 36 employees of Humble Games were told that we were being let go and that the company is shutting down.” Later, the company denied that they were shutting down and insisted they were just “restructuring.” That was the extent of any statements or explanations made by the company.
Ziff Davis
Recently, it was announced that the staff that Humble Games previously fired would now be partnered with and employed by Ziff Davis. This is an unprecedented move, given that a large media company owns the publisher. Ziff Davis is a media company that owns IGN, Eurogamer, Extreme Tech, PCMag, and many other companies you may know and love. In addition to those companies, they acquired Humble Bundle, Inc. in 2017 and still own it. Humble Bundle, Inc. branched into many avenues, including the indie publisher.
Any decision to lay off the entire staff of one company would have to come from the top, so, curiously, the people who most likely ordered the layoffs would then turn around and hire those they just fired. The former employees have created Good Games Group, which describes itself as an indie publisher. They will continue Humble Games’s work, though the publisher still exists. Ziff Davis doesn’t own Good Games Group; they simply partner with them, seemingly funding the small company. As of right now, this is all new information. Good Games Group hasn’t disclosed what developers they will be working with yet, although it’s speculated that they’ll work with some of the indie developers from Humble Games. Many of them were left in the dark and uncertain after the layoffs.
Final Thoughts
What this move means for Humble Games and whether the publisher/storefront will continue to exist is still being determined. It seems odd that the company would fire its entire staff, and said staff would then create their own company that serves the same purpose and partner with Ziff Davis. More and more, it seems that Humble Games will be dissolved and replaced with Good Games Group; the reason is unclear. As we await more news, it’s pertinent to remember that the most crucial parties involved are the indie developers affected by the uncertainty with their publisher.
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