Iron Galaxy, the Chicago-based game company best known for helping other studios port their games to new platforms, is laying off dozens of employees, it announced on Friday. The downsizing comes after it shipped the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 remaster collection to positive reviews.
The layoffs could affect up 90 employees, one source told Kotaku. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. “Ever since 2020, when everything about making video games started to change, people have been waiting for business ‘to get back to normal,” the company posted on LinkedIn. “These are the conversations we’ve had with colleagues and partners on our travels to the places where game creators gather. This year, we’re adopting a new posture to accept these current market conditions as permanent.”
It continued, “Players consume games in new ways. Publishers have different criteria for investing in the development of games. This new normal has impacted all our partners. As Iron Galaxy adapts, we must make painful decisions about what we can be as a company. It’s impossible for us to sustain the team size that we’ve carried this past year, even after our downsizing from last year.”
Established back in 2008 as a work-for-hire studio, Iron Galaxy has supported companies on some of the biggest franchises in gaming, including Killer Instinct, the Batman: Arkham games, and Borderlands. In 2022 in partnership with Epic Games, the studio shipped its original IP Rumbleverse, a live-service wrestling multiplayer game that ended up going offline within its first year. PlayStation veteran Adam Boyes departed as co-CEO in 2024.
Despite the high-profile flop, the studio managed to stave off layoffs by continuing its co-development support work, including contributing to the PC version of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, until layoffs became inescapable in early 2025. “Today, Iron Galaxy is parting ways with some of our developers and support staff. In total, we have reduced our employee base by 66 people,” the studio wrote at the time. “This was a means of last resort for us. It’s a measure we do not take lightly to enable our long-term survival.”
Unfortunately, that last resort was not enough as console gaming has stagnated, hits have become harder to come by, and outside investment becomes increasingly scarce. “We are terribly sorry to lose them as we take steps to adapt to the climate of the video game industry,” Iron Galaxy wrote today. “It’s time for us to evolve again.”