Wave of departures at Six to Start, including Adrian Hon
Update: Layoffs were confirmed by the founder, a little over 50% of the studio is impacted due to restructuring from parent company OliveX
Update: Six to Start founder Adrian Hon confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that the departures are the consequences of a wave of redundancies and "contract terminations/non-renewal."
He explained: "Six to Start currently has around 25 full-time and part-time staff, comprising a mix of employees and contractors. A little over 50% of staff are being let go, including myself, owing to a restructuring by OliveX, our parent company. Some people are going this month, and others will be staying on for a few more months.
"Ultimately OliveX are facing the same pressures that are affecting the rest of the games industry – macroeconomic challenges that make raising money harder, interest rates, a return to a pre-COVID level of demand for games and digital experiences, etc."
Original story: An unknown number of Six to Start employees are due to leave the company, including Adrian Hon.
The founder of the UK studio shared on social media that he would be departing "early next year" after 17 years. Other staff also posted about their departures on social media. Head of production Matt Wieteska announced that he's looking for work on Wednesday, and head of engineering Jen Tan also said she was "one of the folks leaving Six to Start" yesterday.
Hon confirmed that "many other people are leaving Six to Start too, sadly, but many people are staying," adding that he wishes them "the very best." Hon shared that he would be taking a break before jumping into a new job.
"Games are a hard business," he continued. "We chose to make [games] that help people get fit and stay healthy – games that people wouldn't regret playing, games that we wouldn't regret making. And I think we achieved that."
The circumstances of these departures are unclear at this stage but GamesIndustry.biz has reached out to Six to Start and Adrian Hon for clarification.
Six to Start, which was founded in 2007, is mainly known for 2012 hit fitness title Zombies Run, and most recently released Marvel Move.
The studio was acquired by fitness firm OliveX in 2021 for $9.5 million.
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