33 people were laid off from Belka Games at the end of April, according to PocketGamer.The social game studio cut 20 percent of its headcount across divisions such as level and narrative design, programming, and community. Lead narrative designer Alexander Pugachev assembled a list of all those let go for potential recruiters to see.In a statement provided to WNHub, Belka explained the reductions were reflective of the company adjusting its business strategy. Going forward, it'll be "more critical" of its games' performance.As spotted by WNHub, data from AppMagic alleges Belka had revenue fall by $5-6 million per month in 2023. By February of this year, its mobile earnings decreased to a reported $4.6 million.CEO Alexander Bogdanov wrote that Belka was "grateful to…
"[My junior staff] have progressed so much…but they also don't have something they can point at and say 'here is the game I shipped'."–Free Radical founder Steve Ellis on the new studio's younger staffLate last year, Embracer closed down Free Radical Design. The studio had been resurrected in 2021 specifically to make a new Timesplitters game, which died with its developer, again.Speaking with GamesIndustry, two-time studio director Steve Ellis recalled how he sought out Plaion (then Koch Media) in 2018 once he learned it had the TimeSplitters rights. He suggested a new game, and proceeded to build a prototype with a small team.Normally when a dormant franchise is getting revived, it starts with a remaster of the older games, as we've seen with Dead Sp…