Virtuos, the studio behind the recent Oblivion remaster and the upcoming Metal Gear Solid: Delta, has confirmed that around 300 employees have been laid off. The news follows a report from French journalist Gauthier ‘Gautoz’ Andres, who said the studio was preparing to cut 7% of its workforce.

Majority of layoffs hit Asia

The Singapore-based company said in a blog post titled “Adapting for the Future of Game Development” that the layoffs are due to “lower occupancy and slower demand.” Most of the affected staff are based in Asia about 200 people with another 70 in Europe. In France, where worker protections are stronger, the number was reportedly “fewer than 10.”

According to Andres, the Asia cuts are expected to mainly affect teams in China, where Virtuos has a major presence.

Royalty-free contract reportedly behind tensions

While the company’s statement focuses on business reasons, Andres shared more details from internal sources. He claims the Oblivion remaster was delivered under a royalty-free contract, meaning no bonuses would be paid even if the game performed well.

Despite strong sales Oblivion reportedly outperformed its original 15-month run in just one month thanks to Game Pass exposure teams were under pressure to deliver a high-quality product. Andres described it as a “showcase game” developed under a quality-over-budget approach that led to heavy internal strain.

After the project wrapped up, Virtuos allegedly froze raises and reduced bonuses across the board. Staff then began asking whether layoffs were coming.

Strike response in France

Andres also reported that the Virtuos branch in Lyon has responded to the layoffs by going on strike. The team is said to be demanding protection from future layoffs, though this has not been officially confirmed.

Layoffs land alongside new Cyberpunk patch

The timing of the layoffs coincides with Virtuos releasing a new Cyberpunk 2077 patch. The studio is also preparing to launch Metal Gear Solid: Delta in August. In recent years, Virtuos has acquired several other studios, including:

• Beyond-FX
• Pipeworks
• Umanaïa
• Third Kind Games
• Abstraction

The company says that these acquisitions are one reason why staff in Asia were impacted the most.

Virtuos appears to be shifting from a support studio to a more visible player in the remaster and co-development space. But with more high-profile work comes more risk and this time, that risk has cost hundreds of jobs.

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