Skydance Games Cuts Staff Weeks After Warner Bros.-Paramount Merger

Skydance Games has cut staff just over a month after Warner Bros. and Paramount closed their landmark merger. The company confirmed the layoffs Monday, saying it is scaling back some projects as part of a reorganization of its games business. No number of affected roles was disclosed.

The cuts land after an Oct. 6 reshuffle that folded Skydance-owned Paramount Games Studio together with Warner Bros. Games' internal developers — Avalanche Software, the studio behind "Hogwarts Legacy," plus NetherRealm Studios, Rocksteady Studios, TT Games and the WB Games teams in Montreal and Boston.

Those games teams were also merged with the two companies' experiences divisions into a single unit. That group now oversees projects spanning Paramount's "Star Trek," "Mission: Impossible," "SpongeBob SquarePants," "South Park," "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and "The Godfather" alongside Warner Bros.' "Harry Potter," DC Universe, "Mortal Kombat," "The Matrix," "Rick and Morty" and "Game of Thrones."

Tony Driscoll was promoted to head the combined games and experiences unit. He had been named head of Paramount's newly launched video game studio in June — itself a mashup of Paramount and Skydance's gaming assets.

"We have stepped back and taken some time to consider where we are investing our efforts and have made the difficult decision to scale down some of our projects," a Skydance spokesperson told Variety. "As a result, there are roles impacted." The spokesperson added that the decision is not a reflection of the talent of those affected and that the company is committed to handling the process "with transparency, care and respect."