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What happened in July 2025
On July 21, Insider Gaming reported that multiple people associated with Ghostpunch Games/Side had posted on LinkedIn that they were looking for work after leaving the team. Technical game designer Benoit Poyser wrote, “Today, my time at Ghostpunch Games / Side Inc has come to an end,” and said he had grown as a game designer and professional. Senior software engineer Nikita Pogutsa also posted that his time with Side, previously Ghostpunch Games, had ended. These were employees’ posts, not statements on behalf of the company. Insider Gaming reported the posts on July 21.
On July 22, Side confirmed layoffs in the codevelopment team formerly known as Ghostpunch Games. Insider Gaming said it understood that fewer than 10 people were affected. That figure is the outlet’s reported estimate, not a headcount disclosed by Side. The report also said some affected workers had contracts that ended and were not renewed, so the changes should not all be described as permanent employee terminations. Insider Gaming’s follow-up reported Side’s confirmation and the estimated scope.
Why did the layoffs happen?
Side did not give a specific explanation for individual cases. Its spokesperson told Insider Gaming that the company regularly grows or contracts teams according to client work, project stages and business needs. The spokesperson said that games require different staffing and experience at different points in development, a factor the company described as part of operating a services business.
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The spokesperson also expressed gratitude to affected team members for their work and said Side remained committed to supporting them through the transition. Both comments were quoted by Insider Gaming; they should be understood as the outlet’s account of what a Side spokesperson said, not as a separate public company announcement.
Were the layoffs caused by Project Blackbird’s cancellation?
The connection has not been established. The July 21 report said Ghostpunch had worked with ZeniMax Online Studios on its “next AAA release” and noted that the layoffs followed reports of the cancellation of Project Blackbird. It also said it was unclear whether the game the team worked on was the same project. In its July 22 follow-up, Insider Gaming reported that the layoffs were not believed to be related to the cancellation. The timing prompted questions, but the reporting did not show that Project Blackbird caused the staffing changes.
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Why was Ghostpunch called Side?
Ghostpunch’s name changed as part of two company-level steps. On August 27, 2024, PTW announced that Ghostpunch Games would join its group, expanding its development services from codevelopment to porting. PTW’s announcement described Ghostpunch as a South Florida studio with experience working with EA, Gearbox Software, Bethesda Game Studios and 2K.
On March 3, 2025, PTW announced that it was rebranding under the name Side and bringing its brands together, including Ghostpunch Games, 1518 Studios, PTW and SIDE. Side described its wider services as covering codevelopment, art production, localization, audio, quality assurance, localization QA, player support, community management and datasets. Side said at the time that it operated more than 40 studios in 15 countries; that was a company-reported figure for the wider group, not a count of Ghostpunch staff. Ghostpunch’s current profile also labels the studio “now Side.”
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What is known—and what remains unclear
- Confirmed: Side confirmed layoffs in July 2025 in the codevelopment team formerly known as Ghostpunch Games.
- Reported, not company-counted: Insider Gaming said fewer than 10 people were affected.
- Not all conventional layoffs: The report said some contracts ended and were not renewed.
- General context, not individual explanations: Side’s spokesperson cited changing client work, project stages and business needs.
- Unproven connection: No causal link between the staffing changes and Project Blackbird’s cancellation was established.
These reports document the July 2025 changes. They do not establish Ghostpunch/Side’s staffing situation or whether further changes took place after that reporting.
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