Strikerz is facing a major round of layoffs that could cut several hundred jobs, FluxGamer has learned. The studio, which has Belarusian roots and is now based in Cyprus, is understood to be preparing a restructuring tied to ongoing difficulties around its football simulator UFL.
According to people familiar with the situation, Strikerz’s workforce may be reduced by more than half, from about 450 employees to roughly 200. Employees are currently in discussions with the company’s human resources department, and more clarity on which roles will be affected is expected in the coming days.
The cuts are focused on Strikerz, the studio responsible primarily for the console version of UFL. The project also has a mobile version, but that work is handled separately by Press Fire Games. That distinction is important because the reported layoffs appear to be tied to the core console business rather than the wider UFL brand as a whole.
The situation is particularly notable because UFL has not been a small, obscure sports project. The free-to-play football simulator attracted wider attention after Cristiano Ronaldo became an investor, giving Strikerz’s attempt to challenge the football game market a much higher profile.
Strikerz has also been associated with Belarus-born game industry circles, including links to Vizor Games, adding further attention to the studio’s background and the scale of its ambitions.
UFL’s Long Development Challenge
UFL attracted attention because it promised an alternative to the established football game model. The project leaned on the idea of fair competition, free-to-play access and a football experience that could appeal to players frustrated with existing annualized sports franchises.
That ambition also created major expectations. Football games are expensive to build and even harder to sustain. They require animation quality, licensing strategy, online infrastructure, player progression systems, matchmaking, monetization and constant balancing. For a studio outside the traditional sports gaming giants, that combination can quickly become financially demanding.
FluxGamer understands that concerns inside Strikerz had been growing for some time. Some employees reportedly anticipated the possibility of layoffs as early as this winter, though the roots of the current situation appear to go back further. The restructuring now suggests that the company is moving from internal concern to a formal cost-cutting phase.
Ronaldo’s backing helped UFL stand out in a market dominated by EA Sports FC and eFootball, but celebrity investment does not remove the core difficulty of building and sustaining a live-service sports game. The project still has to retain players, monetize responsibly, deliver regular updates and compete against franchises with decades of technology, licensing and player loyalty behind them.
A Harsh Market for Independent Sports Games
The reported layoffs at Strikerz also reflect a broader problem across the gaming industry. Studios are under pressure to reduce costs, narrow production pipelines and focus on projects that can show clearer commercial returns. Even well-funded teams are finding it harder to carry large headcounts if a game does not scale quickly enough.
Sports games create a particularly difficult version of that challenge. Players expect realism, smooth online play, regular updates and recognizable football culture from day one. At the same time, competing against franchises with deeply established audiences leaves little margin for error.
For Strikerz, the immediate question is how the layoffs will affect UFL’s future development. A smaller team could allow the studio to reduce costs and focus on the game’s most important systems. It could also slow updates, limit content plans or reduce the speed at which the company can respond to player feedback.
The company has not publicly detailed the full scope of the restructuring. Until Strikerz confirms the final numbers, the exact impact remains unclear. But if the workforce reduction proceeds as described, it would mark one of the most significant setbacks yet for UFL and a major turning point for the studio behind it.
The case shows how difficult it remains to challenge dominant sports game franchises, even with strong initial visibility, a recognizable investor and a clear market opening. UFL still has a known brand and a defined audience target, but Strikerz now appears to be entering a leaner and more uncertain phase.
