A dozen talented game developers at Glowmade, a studio based in Guildford, are reportedly facing job losses. This news comes after the launch of their title, King of Meat, which, according to reports, didn't quite hit the mark.
Insider Gaming suggests that the game's performance fell short of internal expectations. The studio's leadership, it seems, had high hopes, anticipating a concurrent player count of at least 100,000 on Steam. But here's where it gets controversial: the game struggled to consistently reach even 1,000 players across all platforms, with a peak of only 320 on SteamDB.
As a result of these disappointing numbers, the studio allegedly initiated discussions with staff about voluntary redundancies earlier this month, impacting around a dozen employees. GamesIndustry.biz has reached out to Glowmade and Amazon Game Studios for comment, but no official statement has been released yet.
Glowmade, founded in 2015 by former Lionhead Studios developers, partnered with Amazon Game Studios in 2021 to expand into third-party publishing. Amazon Games published King of Meat, which was released in October 2025.
Last August, GamesIndustry.biz spoke with Amazon's EMEA publishing director, Jon Rosenblatt, about their games strategy and how King of Meat fit into their plans. Rosenblatt emphasized the importance of diverse games. He described King of Meat as an ideal opportunity to work with a talented team and expand the game's scope.
What are your thoughts on this situation? Do you think the expectations for King of Meat were too high? Share your opinions in the comments below!
