Scribblenauts Developer 5th Cell Hit With Layoffs

Nick Monroe

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Oct 8, 2015
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Scribblenauts Developer 5th Cell Hit With Layoffs

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5th Cell, best known for the Scribblenauts franchise, has been hit with massive layoffs, and may even have been shut down.

Scribblenauts developer 5TH Cell has been hit with substantial layoffs, as their mobile game Scribblenauts: Fighting Words was cancelled by publisher Warner Bros.

Additionally, lead animator at 5TH Cell, Tim Borrelli, posted an ominous tweet on Monday evening that claiming the entire studio has gone under.

[tweet t=https://twitter.com/Anim8der/status/712052739719598080]

When others on social media asked for clarification, Tim Borrelli explained that layoffs were taking place at the company as early as last week.


[tweet t=https://twitter.com/Anim8der/status/712056389695184896]

45 employees have been laid off, most likely due to the cancellation of the studio's upcoming game Scribblenauts: Fighting Words, according to a statement [http://www.polygon.com/2016/3/21/11279936/developer-5th-cell-lays-off-staff-as-scribblenauts-fighting-words] from 5th Cell CEO Jeremiah Slaczka:

Unfortunately, due to a project cancellation, we have had to let go of 45 of our very talented staff members today. Layoffs aren't something we take lightly and we'd like to thank all our employees for all the hard work and dedication over the years. 5TH Cell as a company is not closing down, but our focus right now is 100% on helping our staff make the transition to other external opportunities. If we haven't already reached out, any interested employer can reach us at [email protected].

The Nintendo DS game Scribblenauts first arrived in North America back in September 2009, and was praised at E3 as a "Best of Show" game. On November 13 2012, Scribblenauts Unlimited launched on the Wii U, 3DS, and on PC on the 20th of that year, making the franchise available to a larger gaming audience. The last time we heard from 5TH cell was when they launched a Fig crowdfunding campaign [https://www.fig.co/campaigns/anchors-in-the-drift] for a new project, Anchors in the Drift. It's unknown what plans 5TH cell has for this project, or anything in particular going forward.

Source: Twitter [https://twitter.com/Anim8der/status/712056389695184896]


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EndlessSporadic

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May 20, 2009
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I wish this industry made better financial decisions and had better job security. I hope for nothing but the best to the talented developers who were let go.
 

Fox12

AccursedT- see you space cowboy
Jun 6, 2013
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This fucking sucks. What other game lets you feed a baby to a cannibal?

I hope they all land on their feet.
 

Something Amyss

Aswyng and Amyss
Dec 3, 2008
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Wow. Wonder what the story is behind the closure. It's one thing to see people fired when a game is canceled, but an entire studio down? jeeze.

Fox12 said:
What other game lets you feed a baby to a cannibal?
Probably like a hundred Greenlight games.
 

Aerosteam

Get out while you still can
Sep 22, 2011
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They were probably putting all their bets on Anchors in the Drift to succeed. Probably should've went with Kickstarter or Indigogo as they would've gotten more money.
 

TrulyBritish

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Jan 23, 2013
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So according to the CEO 5TH Cell aren't closing down, but one of the people let go in the first wave is the lead animator? Is that usual in the video game industry? I'd have thought he'd be among the (relative) last to be laid off?
 

Janichsan

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May 26, 2015
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TrulyBritish said:
So according to the CEO 5TH Cell aren't closing down, but one of the people let go in the first wave is the lead animator? Is that usual in the video game industry? I'd have thought he'd be among the (relative) last to be laid off?
If they have nothing to animate (i.e. no currently in-development new project), why should they keep an animator around? While the lead animator is not an unimportant part of an development team, he's by far not someone of the core team.
 

Czann

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Jan 22, 2014
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Warner Brothers is quickly giving EA a run for their money as the most EVIL company in gaming.

Particularly I despise WB more.
 

Callate

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Honestly, as much as I love Scribblenauts, they've been going back to the same well for some time now. That doesn't mean I wish anyone in the company laid off; they're a talented and creative group and I wish them the best. But they might have been wise to start diversifying a couple of games ago.