How Jackbox Games and Rebellion Developments avoided major layoffs

Finding studios in the games industry that haven't had large-scale layoffs in recent years has become increasingly difficult. Yet Jackbox Games and Rebellion Developments, two of the longest-running studios in the business, have managed to avoid significant staff reductions for over a decade by taking fundamentally different approaches to growth and sustainability.

Jackbox Games launched in 1989 as Learn Television, rebranded as Jellyvision Games in 1995, went dormant for seven years, then relaunched to create one of the most successful casual game franchises of all time. The studio's turning point came in 2014 with the shift to the Jackbox Party Packs model. At present, there are eleven Party Packs available, with a twelfth launching next month.

Mike Bilder, CEO of Jackbox Games, explained how this model changed the studio's approach to growth. "Every Party Pack is unique," he said. "There's a unique batch of games in each one of them. The nice thing is, on an annual basis, any new release isn't a make-or-break situation for the company. If the game doesn't sell or doesn't sell well, we're fine. The back catalog continues to sustain what we do." The Party Packs have launched across consoles, PC, mobile devices and smart TV platforms.

The COVID-19 pandemic boosted Jackbox's brand as players used the party games to connect remotely with friends and family. Brooke Hofer, Jackbox's chief marketing officer, noted that players have joined Jackbox's party games over 826 million times. However, this success hasn't driven the studio to spend recklessly on marketing. "We're not just throwing money at our marketing to reach new audiences," she said. "We treat new ventures as experiments, with controls. We're testing our hypotheses before we break it out in a bigger way. That's how we approach all new endeavors."

Speaking about the studio's lack of layoffs since 2014, Bilder explained the strategic shift. "Early on, we were like any other studio. Every game was critical for us, and if it wasn't successful, we had a going concern for the company. But since 2014, since that launch of the first Party Pack, we have been conservative in the way that we grow the company. When you put all of your eggs in one basket, and that game doesn't succeed, you've got a big problem on your hands. Payroll becomes an issue, and you need to downsize. We've built the company around a different strategy, so that isn't a concern for us."

Jackbox has recently expanded into publishing indie games, with its first title being My Arms Are Longer Now, a comedy game from Toot Games. Bilder said the studio wants to leverage the relationships and marketing infrastructure it has built over twelve years to support other creators. "We see what a challenge the industry is right now, and what a funding challenge is. There's no shortage of great ideas, but sadly most of those probably won't see the light of day because they won't get funded. We want to help where it makes sense, and where it has potential for both of us."

Rebellion Developments offers another model for sustainable operations. Founded in 1991, the studio has released roughly one game per year throughout its history, primarily in the Sniper Elite series. Last year it launched British survival FPS Atomfall, while this year it released futuristic arcade-sports title Speedball. Jason Kingsley, co-founder and CEO of Rebellion, noted that the studio didn't overexpand during the pandemic. "Our profitability flexes because, whilst we're a big company, we don't release many games. Our revenue depends on the long tail of our games."

Rebellion controls game budgets within the $15-50 million range and maintains other revenue streams, including book publishing. Kingsley emphasized that sustainable development practices are as important as sustainable hiring. "We sometimes have to say no to scope," he said. "I think one of the reasons that projects can spiral out of control is parallel to why people might spiral out of control: You sometimes need an authority figure to say no. We make games that sell, and we've got to make controlled-budget games that sell sufficient to make more than their budget."

Kingsley described a simple financial approach: if a game costs $20 million to develop and sells for $40 million, the studio profits $20 million to reinvest. Sometimes games cost $20 million but only generate $15 million, requiring the studio to absorb the loss. Other games perform exceptionally well. "To my mind, that should be the basis of business for many people, but I don't think it actually is," Kingsley said.

Both studios share common themes of strategic growth, realistic expectations, and resistance to industry pressure for rapid expansion. Their success suggests that studios don't need to grow in proportion to their sales or popularity, and that building a solid foundation first makes the difference between sustainable operations and vulnerability to layoffs.