North American gaming and esports organisation 100 Thieves has reportedly laid off more than 10 members of its content team.
Some of the now-ex members of 100 Thieves have shared the news via Twitter. Meanwhile, James Fudge, author of the Fudge Retort newsletter, detailed the names of those involved.
The team members affected by the layoffs mostly come its the content division, including social media managers, video editors and producers. As of the time of writing, 100 Thieves did not issue a statement about the layoffs. Perhaps the most known figure among those leaving the organisation is Mike Aransky, former Executive Producer for 100 Thieves.
The news comes as a surprise, especially considering 100 Thieves’ growth over the last couple of years. The company had a successful 2021, which was capped off by acquiring boutique keyboard brand Higround as well as raising a sizeable investment at the end of the year.
This year, 100 Thieves announced plans to develop its own video game, launched an NFT collectible and partnered with JBL on a custom gaming headset.
The layoffs follow a very turbulent time for the esports industry as a whole. Earlier this month, well-known publication Inven Global announced significant staff reductions, and esports organisation ORDER also laid off a large number of team members. That was preceded by the shutdown of Upcomer’s editorial section in March and the subsequent public fallout that followed.
There have also been reports of layoffs at TSM FTX, and the organisation’s CEO Andy Dinh was fined and put on probation by Riot Games for ‘bullying behaviour’ towards TSM members.
In a recent article by Digiday, former ESPN Esports head Rod ‘Slasher’ Breslau said that “the entire esports journalism industry is dying”, painting a pessimistic picture of the topic at hand. However, it is not only the esports industry that is affected. Even Google, a company renowned for growth, announced a slowdown in hiring in the face of economic uncertainty.
There does seem to be a silver lining to the story, at least for former 100 Thieves staffers. Employees of organisations such as Version 1, Tribe Gaming and XSET all offered a helping hand to those affected.
