Fortis Games closes, with up to 440 jobs affected

Fortis Games has closed, with as many as 440 jobs potentially affected, GamesBeat said. CEO Steven Chiang confirmed the closure in a statement to the outlet on 10 November.

The company launched in 2022 under the ownership of gambling company Las Vegas Sands. At the time, Sands president Patrick Dumont said the move into interactive entertainment was part of a plan to diversify beyond gambling. Fortis acquired several game studios as it grew.

Workers and funding

Former communications director Scott Butterworth said more than 400 people, including himself, were out of work. The potential job count does not establish how many affected workers were employees or contractors.

Butterworth said Fortis’s community-focused approach to mobile games had struggled to get off the ground and that the company had run out of runway.

Fortis production worker Gustavo Coronet said Las Vegas Sands had chosen to end funding and terminate contracts worldwide. Chiang said Fortis had not achieved its goals and that its primary focus would be helping team members find new opportunities.

Twilight Towers’ planned shutdown

Before the company closed, Fortis announced on 4 November that it would shut down its mobile game Twilight Towers. The company said the game was not retaining enough players to sustain the costs of development, content, servers and player support.

Fortis had scheduled the game’s shutdown for 16 November; whether that plan remains in place after the company’s closure is unknown.