3 months after firing Dr Disrespect, Deadrop developer Midnight Society confirms 'significant' layoffs

Midnight Society, a developer currently working on NFT extraction shooter Deadrop has confirmed "significant' layoffs. However, it says that the studio remains committed to releasing this game in 2025, despite these cuts.

Former employees of Midnight Society first reported layoffs on LinkedIn over the weekend. Tyler Moore, a former senior environment artist, claimed to be "one of many" artists who were let go as a result of the cuts. Midnight Society confirmed the layoffs to PC Gamer in a press release.

A studio representative said, "Unfortunately Midnight Society has faced numerous unexpected challenges in the last few months." "To adapt to the changes and secure the future for Midnight Society, Deadrop and our commitment to provide innovative gaming experiences, We've made the difficult decision to streamline our operation, which includes a substantial workforce reduction. We wouldn't have made it this far without the incredible contributions of those affected. We thank them for their incredible work, we support them and we wish them all the best.

"These measures are difficult but necessary to strengthen our foundation and renew our focus on our core missions. We remain committed to launching Deadrop by 2025, despite these challenges.

Jok5rr, a Deaddrop content creator, claimed on Twitter that "roughly" 50% of the studio's staff were laid off.

It's hard to know what's going on behind the scenes, but the "unexpected" challenges cited in Midnight Society’s statement are at least partly a reference to Guy Beahm's dismissal in June, after he admitted to an "inappropriate exchange of messages" with a minor back in 2017. Beahm, along with Robert Bowling, former Call of Duty creative strategy, and Quinn Delhoyo of Halo 5 multiplayer, co-founded Midnight Society 2021. He was its most prominent booster, attracting a huge following for Deadrop via his massive online following.

As Morgan Park, a staff writer, said in July, Beahm’s dismissal posed an immediate problem for Midnight Society. While Midnight Society moved swiftly to scrub Beahm’s presence from its channels, the game is suffused by the Dr Disrespect characters, and he played a major role in the attraction of many of its early supporters.

Park wrote: "Deadrop was not just Dr Disrespect’s game, but Dr Disrespect’s game." The art style of the shooter matches Beahm’s dark cyberpunk stream graphic and merchandise. Deadrop's core extract mode was inspired Beahm’s love of Escape From Tarkov. The Deadrop assault weapon has two firing modes, 'Yaya and 'Yayayaya.' This is a reference to a disgraced streamer’s catchphrase."

Because Beahm was such a central character in Deadrop, a significant number of his fans announced that they would be leaving the game. It's impossible to know how much impact this had on the decision to layoff employees, but the timing cannot be ignored.

Robert Bowling, studio co-founder, said in a message posted on the Midnight Society Discord via Variant Intel, "We will be sharing our revised goals and milestones soon, and we appreciate your continued trust in our vision."

Beahm still has links to Midnight Society on his YouTube profile and calls it "my new AAA gaming studio," but Bowling confirmed that the streamer had no involvement with the studio. He told Esports.gg: "Guy Beahm is not involved in Midnight Society, or the Deadrop game." He was terminated after admitting to inappropriate communications with a minor.