“Those of us who joined in the early 2000s, we had it very good”: Monument Valley boss says it’s getting harder to give workers full-time stability
Ustwo Games, developer of Monument Valley, is restructuring its workforce toward contractor-based hiring and away from full-time employment. Following the removal of Monument Valley 3 from Netflix, CEO María Sayans revealed the decision reflects financial pressures facing smaller studios. The developer currently employs just under 30 people—down from 40 during Monument Valley 3 development—and aims to significantly reduce production budgets that have typically ranged between £7–10 million with 3–4 year development cycles.
Sayans acknowledged the studio had been “too romantic” about providing long-term job security. Speaking as both CEO of Ustwo Games and chair of Ukie (the UK games industry trade body), she indicated that maintaining stable full-time employment is becoming increasingly challenging in the current market. The shift also includes a strategic pivot toward PC gaming over the series’ traditional mobile-first approach.
The restructuring represents a pragmatic response to industry pressures, though it marks a departure from employment practices that characterized the studio’s earlier years. Sayans noted that developers who joined studios in the early 2000s “had it very good” regarding employment stability, suggesting the gaming industry’s economic landscape has fundamentally shifted.