Paradox to write down Lamplighters League costs, confirms layoffs at Harebrained Schemes

Paradox Interactive has announced it will write down capitalised development costs for The Lamplighters League, and confirmed layoffs occurred at developer Harebrained Schemes earlier this year.

In a post on its website, the Swedish company explained that SEK 320 million ($29.4 million) will be "recognised as costs in the fourth quarter of 2023," which will have an impact on its profit before tax during the same quarter, with losses linked to the title estimated to reach SEK 248 million ($22.8 million).

"The Lamplighters League is a fun game with many strengths," Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester commented. "Even though we see cautiously positive player numbers in subscription services, the commercial reception has been too weak, which is frankly a big disappointment. Game projects are by their nature always risky, but at the end of the day we haven’t performed at the level we should. It is painful but makes us more eager to roll up our sleeves and do better."

Additionally, layoffs happened at Lamplighters League's developer, Paradox-owned Harebrained Schemes, over the summer. The news was first shared on Resetera by a former employee, who said that "80% or so of the studio was let go in July."

The layoffs were confirmed by a Paradox representative to PC Gamer, who didn't provide numbers but said: "Harebrained Schemes’ staff was significantly reduced over the summer as the game entered its last phase of development and launch preparations."

The spokesperson also shared that Paradox is "still working on [its] post-launch support plan" for The Lamplighters League.

The title launched just last week, with PC Gamer pointing out that its all-time peak concurrent player count only reached 690.

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