Bithell Games Lays Off Majority of Staff Just Two Months After Tron: Catalyst Release
Bithell Games, the acclaimed indie studio behind Thomas Was Alone, John Wick Hex, Tron Identity, and most recently Tron: Catalyst, has laid off the majority of its full-time staff less than two months after its latest launch.
The news was confirmed in a statement from studio founder Mike Bithell, posted on his personal BlueSky account. Bithell explained that the layoffs were driven by the studio’s inability to secure “a new larger scale project,” a challenge that has been impacting many development teams in 2024 and 2025.
“It became clear leading up to the release of our most recent game that we were not immune to the challenges faced by many game development teams seeking funding partners in 2024 and 2025,” Bithell wrote. “We’ve fortunately been able to communicate these challenges ahead of time, and work with affected staff to ease departures as much as possible via severance packages.”
According to Bithell, the cuts were anticipated prior to the launch of Tron: Catalyst and will not affect the studio’s ability to support its published titles. Bithell Games currently lists Amberspire as an in-development project on its official website.
Tron: Catalyst launched on June 17, 2025, for PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. The layoffs come just shy of two months after the game’s release, underscoring the difficult financial realities that even established independent studios face in today’s gaming industry.
Do you think the indie game market is becoming too risky for mid-sized studios, or is this a case of poor timing and funding challenges?
