Fishlabs lays off 25 staff

Mobile developer and publisher Fishlabs has laid off 25 staff as part of restructuring efforts at the firm.

Staff affected by the redundancies include those working in marketing and art departments. Some programmers have also been let go.

The company is currently in self-administration, but has insisted it has not yet been dissolved and "business dealings are being carried out as usual".

The firm admitted however the layoffs were necessary to "significantly" lower the publisher’s running expenses.

“This has been an extremely hard cut and the most difficult day for me and Fishlabs co-founder Christian Lohr in the history of our studio,” said Fishlabs CEO Michael Schade.

“We actively support our former employees in finding new jobs and we are confident that our expertise on mobile and our good industry relations will be helpful in that undertaking. With a slimmed-down studio as well as our first free-to-play title Galaxy on Fire – Alliances plus another project for Volkswagen China in the pipeline, we are now well-prepared to get new investors on board.”

The Hamburg-based company is now focusing on the soft launch of its strategy MMO Galaxy on Fire – Alliances, which will be launched in the next month. The company is also working on a new title in the Galaxy on Fire franchise, as well as a new IP in cooperation with the Volkswagen Group in China.