Team 17’s CEO is out as publisher begins restructuring

Team 17, the British publisher behind some of the finest indie games of recent years, has parted ways with its CEO Michael Pattison, entering into a “period of consultation”. 

In a comment to VG247, Team 17 confirmed that it had “amicably parted ways with Michael” and that the studio has “sadly entered into a period of consultation today within Team 17 Digital, with Astragon and Storytoys remaining unaffected by restructuring plans.” 

This news comes in response to reports earlier today which forecast layoffs at the publisher. Eurogamer reported that the majority of the developer’s internal Quality Assurance (QA) team would be affected, publishing a claim by anonymous sources that “around 50 roles… are at risk as part of a major restructuring process”.

According to a source at VG247, Team 17 commercial operations director Ann Hurley read out a statement earlier today at an emergency town hall meeting, stating that the publisher has “felt the pressure” this year, “as have many companies in our industry.” 

Team 17 is renowned for having published a range of acclaimed indie titles including Overcooked, Moving Out, Worms, Dredge, and Yooka-Laylee. Despite its wide roster of well-crafted indie titles, it looks as though the publisher is in for an even rockier time as it attempts to remain solvent through restructuring. 

Team 17 also suffered a range of layoffs back in March as the company attempted a “re-alignment”, but it would appear that the layoffs did little to bolster the publisher’s prospects in the long term.  

This has also been a difficult time for other parts of the industry. Epic Games, the developer behind Fortnite, laid off over 800 staff at the end of September. CEO Tim Sweeny shared a public announcement, stating that the company has “concluded that layoffs are the only way.”

Team 17 has published some of the best co-op games and best multiplayer PC games out there.