Layoffs hit Japan as Final Fantasy Brave Exvius developer asks 80 employees to “voluntarily resign” 

Japanese mobile game developer Gumi has announced that it will be soliciting voluntary resignations from employees in Japan. The company had already been laying off staff in overseas offices but will now be offering buyouts to Japanese staff as well. The developer plans to cut about 11% of its current workforce and sell some of its assets in face of financial difficulties (Source: Gamebiz). 

In the fiscal year ending April 2024, Gumi posted a loss of 5.934 billion yen (about $38 million), mostly related to the severe underperformance of their newly launched mobile RPG Aster Tatariqus. To tackle these losses and worsening market conditions, Gumi will be refraining from developing new and “risky” original IPs for the time being, pursuing stable and low-cost forms of revenue. Along with the change in policy, the company will be cutting down its workforce.  

Gumi currently has 689 employees, 80 of which are expected to be made redundant via buyouts in the following month. Employees who accept the company’s offer to resign will receive “beneficial retirement packages” and outplacement support. As Japan’s labor law makes dismissing employees (especially “on the spot” like in the US) complicated and time-consuming, what we’re seeing with Gumi is a rather rare case and most likely the closest a Japanese employer can get to carrying out mass layoffs. 

With the mobile game market losing momentum, professionals in Japan’s game industry have recently suggested that we might see more ex-mobile game companies entering the console and PC game markets.