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A new report suggests that Plaion, formerly Koch Media, is bracing for layoffs as it plans a major restructure of its gaming business. More specifically, it plans to drop three games publishing labels in order to publish them under its own name. Allegedly, the company expects only a handful of jobs to be affected, and the restructuring process could take up to a year.
The report comes from GamesIndustry.biz and cites anonymous sources who shared a presentation. According to these sources, the company plans to drop three of its gaming labels — Deep Silver, Prime Matter and Ravenscourt. As the restructure will take some time, says the report, several games may launch under those labels before Plaion sunsets them.
Deep Silver is the oldest, with then-Koch Media founding it in 2002. It’s best known as the publisher behind the Saints Row, Metro and Dead Island series. Ravenscourt, founded in 2014, is the publisher of the Let’s Sing series. Prime Matter, founded in 2021, is the publisher behind the upcoming System Shock Remake and Payday 3.
As it “simplifies” its game publishing structure, Plaion apparently hopes to lose only a handful of jobs in this restructure. It’s not clear if this means any upcoming titles will be delayed or canceled. In addition to the recent Dead Island 2, Deep Silver is currently set to publish a new Timesplitters game developed by Free Radical Design. Prime Matter is also working on a new Painkiller title with Saber Interactive.
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