Star Atlas Begins Staff Reductions

Sun, Dec 18th — Automata, the developers of the game Star Atlas, quietly began staff reductions last Friday to include Content Strategist Dave Boerger, better known in the Star Atlas Community as DaveyB.

In a LinkedIn post, the Head of Growth at Star Atlas, Estefan Vazquez, announced on the 16th

“Today marks the end of my journey with Star Atlas. It has been an incredible experience and a true honor to work alongside some of the most talented people I’ve come across.

The two high profile layoffs are two of at least four known staff reductions at the company. Several sources at the company have confirmed the staff layoffs but were not at liberty to discuss the reasoning behind the staff reductions. Automata spokespersons declined to provide comment on the staff reductions at this time.

Staff Reductions Amidst Runway Shortage

It’s officially unclear if the recent downsizing at Automata was driven by their recent fund loss associated with FTX’s collapse. However, given the circumstances of a shortened development runway, it is highly likely that senior executives at the company were forced to make tough cost savings decisions regarding which personnel to retain.

It is unlikely that staff reductions were implemented due to public community pressure and outrage following the FTX incident. Star Atlas community members were virulent in their calls for immediate staff firings. Rather, this appears to be a pragmatic business decision the company was forced to make.

The question remains as to the size and scope of these initial reductions. Should revenue reports continue to be net negative, it is possible that additional rounds of layoffs might occur in the future. Automata now faces the challenge of ensuring that the reduction in payroll expenses ultimately enable the development and delivery of the Star Atlas game.