F1 Manager developer Frontier to lay off unknown number of employees

(Image credit: Frontier Developments)

Frontier Developments, the UK games studio behind F1 Manager 23 and Planet Coaster, is planning to lay off an as-yet-unknown number of employees in order to cut operating costs (via gamesindustry.biz).

A company trading update this morning confirmed that Frontier has been having a tough time, financially speaking. The studio's most recent financial reports show an 8% drop in revenue for the year ending May 31. To make matters worse, the operating loss incurred over the same financial year came to $32 million / £26.6 million - a stark contrast to the $1.83 million / £1.5 million operating profit recorded the year before.

As a result, those in charge of the company announced their intention to "reshape Frontier", putting into motion plans to "refocus on [the developer's] core strengths following a period of disappointing financial performance and more challenging industry conditions."

This plan comes with the goal of reducing annual operating costs by 20%. Frontier has claimed that it'll reach this goal through a combination of spending cuts, a recruitment freeze, and an unknown number of redundancies following a period of consultation.

This is, in part, due to the underwhelming performance of last year's F1 Manager 22, which sold sufficiently poorly that Frontier had to lower its revenue projections back in January (via gamesindustry.biz).

Despite these setbacks, Frontier has reassured investors that the developer's portfolio of upcoming titles will "[continue] to perform in line with expectations." With the release of Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin on the horizon, we shall soon see if the company's predictions will prove accurate. The real-time strategy game is set to release on November 17 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Frontier isn't the only studio that's been suffering in recent times. Last month Fortnite developer Epic Games laid off over 800 employees - roughly 16% of its workforce. We've also seen developers at Polish studio CD Projekt Red unionize in response to three waves of layoffs over the last three months which saw over 9% of the studio lose their jobs.

For more games like F1 Manager and Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin, check out our list of the best PC strategy games. Alternatively, our list of upcoming games will keep you appraised of future releases.

Cat Bussell is a Staff Writer at TechRadar Gaming. Hailing from the crooked spires of London, Cat is an experienced writer and journalist. As seen on Wargamer.com, TheGamer.com, and Superjumpmagazine.com, Cat is here to bring you coverage from all corners of the video game world. An inveterate RPG maven and strategy game enjoyer, Cat is known for her love of rich narratives; both story-driven and emergent.

Before migrating to the green pastures of games journalism, Cat worked as a political advisor and academic. She has three degrees and has studied and worked at Cambridge University, University College London, and Queen Mary University of London. She's also been an art gallery curator, an ice cream maker, and a cocktail mixologist. This crash course in NPC lifestyles uniquely qualifies her to pick apart only the juiciest video games for your reading pleasure.

Cat cut her teeth on MMOs in the heyday of World of Warcraft before giving in to her love of JRPGs and becoming embedded in Final Fantasy XIV. When she's not doing that, you might find her running a tabletop RPG or two, perhaps even voluntarily.