Key Notes
- Fishlabs has announced cuts across development and support teams, citing changing project requirements and client needs without disclosing a headcount.
- The Hamburg studio is known for Galaxy on Fire and Chorus and has contributed to projects including Satisfactory, Valheim, Dead Island 2 and Goat Simulator 3.
- Embracer includes Fishlabs in the planned Fellowship Entertainment spin-off for 2027, but the studio’s statement does not link the layoffs to that separation.
Fishlabs has announced layoffs affecting both development and support teams at its Hamburg studio. The Galaxy on Fire and Chorus developer says changing project requirements, alongside the needs of clients and internal teams, have prompted a reassessment of its structure.
The company confirmed the cuts in an October 15 LinkedIn statement, but did not disclose how many employees will leave. It said the decision was unrelated to the affected staff’s talent or performance and that its immediate priority was supporting departing colleagues.
Development and Support Roles Affected
Fishlabs described the decision as difficult and said it remained committed to its partner projects and remaining teams. Its announcement does not identify a particular client, project or department-by-department breakdown beyond development and support.
That leaves the scale of the reduction unclear. The statement also gives no timetable for departures, details of severance arrangements or confirmation that a game has been canceled. The studio’s stated explanation is a change in project and organizational needs.
The announcement comes alongside other staffing reductions in Germany’s games industry. We recently reported on Ubisoft’s proposed voluntary departure program at its Dusseldorf, Berlin and Mainz studios. Fishlabs is a separate company, and its statement does not establish a shared cause between the two decisions.
From Galaxy on Fire to Co-development
Founded in 2004, Fishlabs built its reputation with the Galaxy on Fire series before expanding its work on PC and consoles. Its studio portfolio now spans full game development, co-development, remakes, ports and audio production.
The company’s own releases include Chorus, the space-combat action game published by Deep Silver in December 2021. Steam credits Deep Silver Fishlabs as its developer. It follows pilot Nara and her sentient starfighter Forsaken on a campaign against the cult she once served.
More recent credits illustrate the studio’s role supporting other developers. Fishlabs lists work on Satisfactory’s PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series versions, Valheim on Xbox, Dead Island 2 projects and multiple versions of Goat Simulator 3.
Those contributions are different from creating the original games alone. Co-development can mean working alongside a lead studio on specific systems or content, while porting adapts an existing game for another platform.
In a September project update, Fishlabs described its work bringing Teardown multiplayer to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. It outlined engine work, performance improvements for up to 12 players, controller interfaces, localization and testing and certification, alongside a multiplayer-focused community mod pack.
Fellowship Spin-off Remains Planned for 2027
Fishlabs remains part of Embracer Group. Embracer’s May spin-off announcement names it among the studios and companies intended for Fellowship Entertainment, alongside developers including Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, 4A Games and Warhorse Studios.
Fellowship is designed around game development, publishing and licensing, with major properties including Tomb Raider and The Lord of the Rings. Embracer plans to separate it into a publicly listed company on Nasdaq Stockholm during calendar year 2027, subject to shareholder approval and other customary conditions.
The group already reports Fellowship Entertainment and Embracer as two distinct operating segments. That reporting structure precedes the planned legal separation; it does not mean Fellowship has already become an independent listed company.
Fishlabs’ layoff statement does not attribute the cuts to that spin-off. It instead points to changing project requirements and team needs, while reaffirming support for partner work. The number of departing employees and the specific projects behind the restructuring remain undisclosed.
