Nerial, which joined the Devolver family in 2021, rose to prominence with the Reigns franchise—an innovative series of narrative-driven games that blend strategy with Tinder-style swiping mechanics. Since its debut, Reigns has generated over $20 million in revenue across five titles, making it one of Devolver’s most successful properties to date.
Despite this commercial success, Nerial’s more recent efforts, including The Crush House, appear to have prompted internal concerns. According to Devolver’s FY24 investor presentation, “Nerial has undergone a team restructure to address issues around recent releases and to better shape the team for future releases.” As a result, the studio has seen a 40 percent reduction in staff. Nerial’s official website currently lists just 11 employees.
The move is part of a wider strategic realignment at Devolver Digital, which has also impacted several other studios in its portfolio. Earlier in 2024, Polish developer Artificer was downsized by over 50 percent. Similarly, Devolver reduced headcount at both Good Shepherd and newcomer Big Fan Games—launched as recently as October 2024—by half over the course of the year.
Altogether, the publisher’s global workforce has shrunk from a peak of 303 employees at the end of 2023 to approximately 270 by the close of 2024.
Despite these cuts, Devolver has described its 2024 performance as “strong”, with annual revenue rising 13 percent year-on-year to $104.8 million, and gross profit climbing 23 percent to $30.1 million. The company said it remains focused on long-term investment in first-party IP and expanding existing franchises. 2025 is expected to mark its peak investment year, with key titles like Starseeker from System Era Softworks currently in the pipeline.
Devolver says it will continue to assess “the appropriate size of its global footprint” while doubling down on games with long-term potential.
