Forte Closes Rumble Entertainment following Phoenix Labs closure

• Employees who were laid off were offered one month of pay

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Blockchain games platform Forte has closed down mobile studio Rumble Entertainment. 

Former senior web architect David Bethune took to LinkedIn to share that Rumble (R Studios) recently laid off staff during a five-minute Zoom meeting. 

“I’m sad to be the first to share that R Studios, formerly Rumble was shutdown today by our new owner, Forte,” he wrote. “This is their second recent studio axing after Phoenix Labs got this treatment a few weeks ago.”

Bethune criticised Rumble’s recent owners, Forte and Aristocrat, for being “ruthless” in pursuing future profits while laying off the teams responsible for creating the company’s products.

Rumble layoffs follow CEO’s passing

Those affected by layoffs were offered one month of pay. Many others were especially shocked by Rumble’s closure, which came shortly after the passing of former CEO Mark Spenner, who was known for fostering a healthy work environment. 

The layoffs at Rumble come after another significant round of redundancies at Forte’s other studio, Phoenix Labs. Following layoffs last December that affected 34 employees in various departments, an additional 140 jobs were cut in May.

Established in 2011, Rumble designed several free-to-play mobile titles, including Towers & Titans.