Mighty Kingdom sacks staff, publishes names and job titles in effort to find them new work

SA’s top game developer has cut its workforce by nearly 30 per cent – but has done something unusual on social media to try to help their sacked staff.

South Australia’s biggest gaming developer has made a “sombre” announcement on its social media – alongside a bittersweet show of support.

Adelaide-based studio Might Kingdom, creators of Conan Chop Chop, announced on Monday it would cut its workforce by 28 per cent during a “strategic restructuring”.

At least 14 members of staff will no longer be employed by the giant – but the post included the names and titles of many of the staff in an endorsement to help them find new jobs in the industry.

“We highly recommend each of the incredible professionals we’ve had to part way with, they have contributed significantly to our success over the years,” chief executive David Yin wrote in the announcement post.

Mighty Kingdom has announced 28 per cent of their staff have been layer off as part of their restructure. Picture: James Elsby

“We have created a resource to showcase the incredible talents of our departing team members, which is available below to post,” Mr Yin said.

“There are impacted staff that have opted out of this public data share, please do not take this as a complete source of information on redundancies.”

The company said the move is set to save $2.1m per year, following a net loss of $9.1m in the past financial year.

Mr Yin said the news was “sombre” but the team remains “steadfast in our commitment to our mission of creating delightful game experiences”.

“This decision is made with heavy hearts and we never wanted to find ourselves in this position and we have exhausted all possible avenues to avert these changes,” he said.

“We are committed to moving forward with transparency and care for everyone involved – our team, players and partners.”

It is understood the company employs about 90 staff.

Mr Yin, formerly the chief executive of gaming company Storms and President of Web 3 gaming, joined the company’s board alongside Mark Aubrey and Chris Whiteman during a showdown with activist major shareholder Shane Yeed.

Mr Aubrey headed up Activision Blizzard Asia Pacific for more than seven years and Mr Whiteman is a director of Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands, which is valued at more than $5bn.

The lay-offs come as more than 9500 game development staff worldwide have been laid off in 2024 from January to May, according to PC Gamer.