A Digital Bros Restructure Could Impact Kunos Simulazioni

Last updated on January 15th, 2024 at 01:24 pm

With an organisational review likely to reduce their overall workforce by around 30%, a Digital Bros restructure could impact Kunos Simulazioni, developers of Assetto Corsa and Assetto Corsa Competizione.

Digital Bros was founded in 1989 by Abramo and Raffaele Galante, and includes international gaming publisher 505 Games. It has also acquired studios including Kunos Simulazioni, DR Studios, AvantGarden, Supernova, Nesting and Ingame Studios, along with providing digital and retail distribution for other titles, including Drift CE (formerly Drift 21)

The videogame industry has been hit by thousands of lay offs during 2023, with cuts at companies including Epic Games, Ubisoft, EA and more. The official announcement by Digital Bros refers to a changing market since the pandemic which has become more selective. And a focus on “the release of sequels and new versions of previously successful and established games, with a limited number of new larger budgets productions.”

Apparently a ‘predominant portion’ of the cuts to the global workforce will be concentrated within the studios.

Obviously we have sympathy for anyone losing their job during a difficult time, but from a purely sim racing perspective, Kunos seem to be in a relatively secure position. The most recent Digital Bros earnings report in September referred to the ‘outstanding performance of the different versions of Assetto Corsa’, which generated 5.3 million Euros over Q1 2023-2024, a substantial share of the 15 million Euros for the Premium Games sector as a whole. And while the release of Assetto Corsa 2 has been postponed due to the arrival of the Season 2024 Pack for ACC, the company is apparently cautiously optimistic about long-term publishing plans, including the sequel.

The other racing game which might be impacted is Drift CE (formerly Drift21), which was developed by ECC Games and published by 505 Games. But the studio behind it and Car Mechanic Simulator 2018 isn’t directly owned by Digital Bros, so it’s the publishing and distribution which may be affected.

Of the studios owned by Digital Bros, Kunos seem to be in a fairly strong position. But we’ll have to wait and see what impacts might be felt by any lay offs, whether that’s at the developer, or in other areas of the company. It certainly feels very different to the recent staff cuts announced at Motorsport Games, for example.