Studio Quantic Dream is in turmoil. Staff at the Paris office who walked out say planned mass layoffs could derail development of Star Wars Eclipse. Their claim: cutting roughly 115 people would make finishing the project in its current form nearly impossible — 115 ppl is, they insist, the min. crew gap.
The row kicked off after an internal reorg announced following the failed free-to-play run of Spellcasters Chronicles. That title was shut down in mid-June; soon after, Quantic Dream outlined structural changes that demonstrators say will touch ~115 employees. In a chat with GameKult, devs framed the strike as both a protest against layoffs and a bid to protect Star Wars Eclipse itself.
We’re short-staffed right now — just like a lot of studios. Passion keeps people late, sure, and that often gets games finished; but you can’t keep patching a team together with crunch forever. Developer Jules
Jules argues the shortage is practical, not dramatic-sounding rhetoric: if the 115 roles aren’t filled (or reallocated), essential tasks and tool training won’t happen. Theo, another participant, claims many of those people have been underemployed for nearly a month — time that could’ve been used for onboarding and mastering the studio’s internal tools (e.g., the ones used on Eclipse). He believes the current layoff plan would cripple the project.
Protesters timed the action to coincide with a visit from Lucasfilm Games reps, who were reportedly assessing Eclipse’s progress. Workers hoped that having a partner on-site would force management to pay attention — and maybe prompt some different choices.
A reminder: Star Wars Eclipse was unveiled at The Game Awards in 2021. Since then, updates have been scarce and no release date has been set. The studio says the game will lean into its narrative approach, with branching outcomes tied to player decisions — assuming it ever reaches release, of course.