Fishlabs lays off staff citing changing project requirements amid Embracer restructuring

Fishlabs cuts jobs across development and support teams, headcount undisclosed. Plaion's German co-development studio cites changing project requirements and partner needs. Fishlabs cut 50 roles in 2023 under Embracer's prior restructuring program. The repeated contractions show how centralized publisher restructuring strains dedicated co-development studios.

Fishlabs filed for bankruptcy-equivalent proceedings before, cutting 25 positions.
That crisis pushed founders Michael Schade and Christian Lohr to exit.
Schade and Lohr went on to found Rockfish Games in 2014.
Plaion acquired Fishlabs, then Koch Media, in 2013, before 2023's 50-role cut.

Fishlabs supports partner projects including Dead Island 2, Teardown and Albion Online.
It also contributed to Satisfactory, Valheim and Goat Simulator 3 for other studios.
As a co-development shop, its headcount tracks demand from Embracer-owned IP holders.
Fishlabs blamed changing project requirements and shifting client and internal team needs.

Fishlabs now sits inside Fellowship Entertainment, one of four new Embracer segments.
Fellowship houses 11 studios, including 4A Games, Crystal Dynamics and Warhorse Studios.
It is positioned as an IP-led entertainment company spanning development and licensing.
Consolidating franchise ownership under Fellowship raises capacity-planning risk for support studios like Fishlabs.

For Publishers & Developers: Lock backup external co-dev vendors before booking milestones on conglomerate-owned support studios.
For Investors & VC: Add parent-restructuring exposure and captive-client concentration to every co-dev studio diligence checklist.
For Service Vendors: Pitch overflow production capacity to franchise holders whose captive support studios keep shrinking.