Nexon-owned mobile studio Pixelberry is conducting layoffs (original) (raw)

California-based mobile developer Pixelberry Studios has laid off an unknown number of employees.

Multiple people affected by the cuts shared the news on Linkedin and indicated the layoffs will impact a variety of roles ranging from QA staff and producers to artists and programmers.

"I found out I'm going to be laid off along with a lot of great people at Pixelberry. I'll be looking for engineering manager opportunities, but I'll also be sharing some of their posts," said Pixelberry associate engineering manager, Paige Lowe.

"Whether you're looking for programmers, pms, artists, producers, or anything in between, there are a lot of amazing employees coming on the market soon."

That post was corroborated by others, with Pixelberry QA test lead Edward Jimenez explaining he was informed he was being laid off "while overseas on PTO."

Nexon and Pixelberry

Pixelberry is owned by Korean conglomerate Nexon, the studio and publisher behind MapleStory, Dungeon & Fighter, and Dave the Diver. Nexon acquired Pixelberry in 2017 for an undisclosed fee with a view to leveraging the company's development and localization expertise.

The studio is known for developing narrative titles like High School Story, Choices!, Hollywood U, and Cause of Death. It's unclear how many people currently work at Pixelberry, although the studio claims to have hired "some of the game industry's most experienced game writers, developers, and artists" in recent years.

Game Developer has reached out to both Nexon and Pixelberry to learn more about the layoffs.

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Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.