Cozy MMO Palia seemingly on the rocks after studio goes through a third round of layoffs, this time affecting 40% of staff

Singularity 6, the studio behind cozy MMO Palia, is laying off about 40% of its staff.

The Palia developer has let go of around 36 employees - 40% of its workforce - according to Polygon's Nicole Carpenter, potentially leaving the future of the online game on the rocks. This is Singularity 6's third round of cutbacks in only nine months after the studio laid off 49 employees in April and made a smaller round of cuts in September 2023. "Two sources said a bunch of people left after the April layoffs, leaving the staff much smaller," reads a follow-up tweet.

Palia began its Open Beta tenure exclusively on the Epic Games Store last year and debuted on Steam in March 2024. Various post-release updates turned the chill online game into a not-so-chill time for some beta players, though, with Palia's "first real patch" and first major event, which both drew complaints from players looking for only the most stress-free additions.

Despite drawing the eye of Stardew Valley fans before release, Palia currently has a 'Mixed' rating based on over 7,000 Steam user reviews, citing bugs and the lack of an Early Access tag on the game's storefront page as the biggest complaints. 

Singularity 6's cutbacks follow a string of layoffs hitting the games industry this year with Sony laying off around 90 employees, Microsoft cutting almost 2,000 jobs before closing several studios under the Bethesda umbrella just last week, and similar events across EA, Embracer’s many studios, and much more.

For now, check out the 25 best multiplayer games available right now.