Funko Fusion developer 10:10 Games has been hit with a round of layoffs after the “complete commercial and critical failure” of the game. Despite several popular franchises and properties featured in the game thanks to the Funko Pops brand, it still failed to attract the attention of gamers looking for their next fix after the LEGO games.
Sources told Insider Gaming that layoffs at 10:10 Games happened as a result of the commercial and critical failure of Funko Fusion, which had the unfortunate luck of launching last September just a week after Game of the Year winner Astro Bot. The game had a 53 average on OpenCritic with Mixed reviews on Steam overall, suggesting that it might not have been worth some people’s time to check out amidst the rush of releases in the last few months of 2024.
Insider Gaming’s sources claimed that Funko Fusion‘s reception was so poor, it failed to get additional funding for planned follow-up projects. Staff were laid off because there simply wasn’t “enough work to give the whole team.” Shortly before the layoffs, 10:10 Games encouraged employees to use up their vacation days, leading to some employees finding out about their termination from the studio while on holiday. Yikes.
“Management seemed very keen to wrap up the process quickly and despite saying that they were fully open to suggestions and feedback, none of it has been taken on board,” said one source.
While Astro Bot managed to get away with its numerous pop culture references and Easter eggs from PlayStation’s history because the gameplay was heaps of fun, the same can’t be said about Funko Fusion which was criticised for having by-the-numbers gameplay that failed to do anything as inventive or clever as the LEGO games – a target market it definitely set its sights on. Even avid Funko Pop collectors didn’t seem to get on the hype train.
Source: Insider Gaming
