FuturLab Holds Layoffs and Cancels In-Development Game

FuturLab, the studio behind the successful PowerWash Simulator series, has quietly made layoffs and cancelled a developing game, it has been confirmed. In a new report, it was revealed that up to seven people have been let go from the studio. However, sources close to the situation expanded on the revelation, and some fairly damning claims emerged.

For instance, one anonymous source speaking to The Week in Videogames suggested that employees working on the now-canceled project had been sitting in silence for weeks with no new work being assigned to them.

The full details of this report are available below.

PowerWash Developer Faces Dire Situation

In a statement handed to TWIV, FuturLab CEO Kirsty Rigden confirmed the cancelation of the new game and that seven employees had been let go as a result. It was stated that it would have ‘cost us more than it was projected to make’ to bring the project to life, and that it ‘wouldn’t have been a sensible decision’ to keep things going.

Right now, per Rigden’s statement, the team is committed to keeping up support for PowerWash Simulator 2 while also prototyping new ideas for future games.

She wrote:

This is awful as these are people who are super talented and many of whom have been with us a long time, and I really really appreciate them.

This was not an easy or quick decision to make, but by making difficult decisions early we protect FuturLab in the future.

TWIV picked up some information from sources close to the studio who claimed that staff were told not to use the term ‘redundancy’ when discussing the situation. Even those who had departed the company had to have a specific naming convention applied to them, with FuturLab requesting they be referred to as ‘the leavers’.

RELATED: PowerWash Simulator 2 Gets Full 2026 Roadmap

The situation became more complex when it was claimed that ‘managers and team leads were not informed that their direct reports were going to be away or why.’ It was then said that those who had entered discussions concerning redundancy simply stopped coming to work.

The nature of employment law in the United Kingdom means that any more information is kept under lock and key, which is something the studio stated when pushed for any more details:

(We are) unable to divulge any further details about a confidential and legally binding process.

Are you shocked to see the changes at FuturLab? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.

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