Indie studio Mighty Yell says "the difficult state of funding in games" has forced it to cut an unspecified number of employees.
Indie studio Mighty Yell, developer of the 2021 comedy crime adventure The Big Con and the upcoming dance-battler All Systems Dance, says it has laid off “a few” of its employees “due to financial challenges.”
“This is not a decision we came to easily, and we know the impact it will have on our team and community,” Mighty Yell wrote in a message posted to Bluesky. “We want to be as transparent as possible regarding the layoffs, and the difficult state of funding in games.
“While we wish layoffs could be avoided, we are hopeful that we will get through this difficult chapter and bring as many members of the team back as possible in the near future.”
Mighty Yell said it remains on track for the release of All Systems Dance, a “grooving adventure game where you reprogram robots by shakin’ it” we got a look at during the 2024 PC Gaming Show. It’s a “non-violent combat game” in which you lead an uprising against a corporate dystopia by winning dance battles against robots, thereby convincing them to join the revolution.
It’s a bit of an unusual setup but making games without violence is Mighty Yell’s thing: The Big Con is a crime game but not one where you’re running around waving guns.
That approach to making games presented something of a challenge for Mighty Yell: “One of the toughest things about making this game was selling people on the non-violent crime aspect of it,” game director and writer Dave Proctor said in 2021. “Games with guns don’t bat an eye, but the moment you have to steal an old lady’s wallet, people start to think maybe there’s something wrong with you.”
Mighty Yell said in today’s announcement that news about the release of All Systems Dance will be shared soon, “but right now what’s important is supporting our team through this tough time.”
2023 and ’24 were brutally punishing for the videogame industry, and while we had hoped for better things in 2025—or at least a vibe shift—it’s not working out that way so far. BioWare, Piranha Games, NetEase, Striking Distance Studios, Eidos Montreal, Cyan Worlds, Liquid Swords, Ubisoft, and engine maker Unity have all let people go this year, and the looming chaos of the Trump administration’s global trade war seems almost certain to make things much worse before they have any hope of getting better.
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