Maximum Entertainment lays off Merge Games staff, shutters Chelford studio in ‘consolidation strategy’

Merge Games cut staff over the weekend, and closed down its single office based in Chelford, England.

The studio is part of Maximum Entertainment, and in a statement to GamesIndustry, CEO Christina Seelye explained the cuts were part of its previously announced consolidation plans. At time of writing, it’s unknown how many developers were affected by the layoffs.

“We made the difficult but necessary decision to take further cost-cutting measures, and these unfortunately include staff redundancies,” she stated.

As a publisher, Merge released Spirit of the North (and its upcoming sequel), Spirittea, and physical versions for The Thaumaturge, among others. Its remaining portfolio will reportedly be integrated into Maximum, and it’s currently unclear if Merge still exists as a separate entity.

In 2023, parent company Zordix relaunched its games division as Maximum Entertainment. Earlier this year, various subsidiaries (like Merge, Modus Studios, and Maximum Games) were unified under the Maximum name.

To conclude her statement, Seelye noted Maximum has a “full and competitive roadmap” for 2024 and “must…enter 2025 stronger and leaner to continue our best work.”