Streamline Studios may be in hot water.

In a recent LinkedIn post, ex-Streamline Studios game designer Ryan Chin alleged that the Malaysian development branch of Streamline Studios did not compensate the workers it laid off since February 2024; about a 100 days+ since.

“Absolutely unacceptable behavior by Streamline Media Group Inc. , Streamline Studios. Terminating employees through a retrenchment exercise on the same day is bad enough, but blatantly violating notice periods and severance compensation is inexcusable. It has been almost 100 days since the event, and affected employees are still waiting for their due compensation.”

The post has currently garnered 52 comments, with most of them verifying and confirming this violation. According to ex-employees on the Linkedin thread, this is the second time Streamline Studios has conducted a mass layoff without prior warning and compensated its workers late, beyond the 100-day period. This was in 2018.

“To read that this company has been conducting malpractice with testimonies from other ex-employees since 2018 and still hiring is ridiculous. ”

“Been there 8 years ago and witnessed 60+ artist being asked to pack their personal belonging immediately and leave within an hour without prior notice, with minimum compensation that took months and years to process and no help given whatsoever, as if they’re just headcount, not human. “

As of now, Streamline Studios has a 2.2 rating out of 5 on employer info website Glassdoor, with criticisms mostly on the company’s management style. February 2024 was also the same period when our interview with Streamline Studios’ Japan director Rui Kawada stated the following regarding layoffs & crunch culture:

“Layoffs in the gaming industry affect regions globally due to its global nature. Economic factors can trigger worldwide layoffs. Streamline Studios is trying to maintain the work environment and adapting to industry shifts to support our team.

We take work-life balance very seriously, reject crunch culture, and value stable and sustainable development. Our project management emphasises reasonable timelines, preventing burnout, and fostering a creative, balanced team for long-term success in the gaming industry.”

Since 2001, Streamline has serviced international developers, publishers, and brands, including Genvid, Balenciaga, Capcom, and Microsoft from production studios in Southeast Asia, Japan, and The Americas. Games the company has worked on include Industries of Titan, Bake & Switch, Pacific Drive, Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, and Street Fighter 6.

Kakuchopurei is currently reaching out to Streamline Studios Malaysia regarding this incident. The story is still developing as we speak.