Seriously Studio, creator of the fan-favorite mobile game Best Fiends, will shut down after disputes arose between the owner of Playtika and the management at Seriously. Playtika’s Israel and Poland offices will be in charge of Best Fiends in the future.
Related: Playtika announces the official launch of Merge Stories
Seriously had a team comprised of 120 people in the Helsinki office. Reportedly, almost all of them were let go, and the office shut its doors on September 30. The decision to shut down was shared with the staff beforehand, around summertime.
According to the statements, the team and management at Seriously Studio wanted to move forward by investing significantly in new titles. Playtika’s side disagreed, as the company wished to monetize Best Fiends further to bring the game even more success revenue-wise.
Playtika had completed the acquisition of Seriously back in August 2019. Some sources reportedly stated that most of the management at Seriously felt some remorse about the sale. This summer, Playtika also shut down Montreal, Los Angeles, and London offices.
The report came from Mobilegamer.biz, as they shared the statement written by a spokesperson at Playtika:
“As part of an ongoing evaluation of its global operations, Playtika will close its Helsinki operations site, consolidating the management of the Best Fiends game into its Israel and Poland offices. We will work closely with our local employees to ensure a smooth and compassionate transition.”
The news also mentioned that Seriously’s CEO and Co-Founder, Petri Järvilehto, was an appreciated boss in all accounts, and the team was content under his leadership. However, the sources stated that the management at Playtika was explained to be “ruthless” and “impatient,” which might well explain the reason behind Seriously shutting down.
