Reports: One Punch Man: World developer Perfect World lays off as many as 1,000 staff

• Perfect World has laid off over 1,000 employees across China
• One Punch Man: World and Perfect New World have had their development halted

Media conglomerate Perfect World has laid off as much as 1,000 employees in China, according to multiple reports.

The company is said to have laid off hundreds staff across its R&D departments, according to The Paper, with its games operations mostly impacted.

One report noted that job losses impacted staff in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and other cities.

Reports also claim the recently launched One Punch Man: World and in-development Perfect New World have ceased production, though one source from the company has disputed this.

One Punch Man: World last received updates on the App Store and Google Play in April.

The publisher is said to have admitted to certain titles performing below expectations. It also acknowledged staff departures, though did not confirm the figure.

The company said the move was in response to rapid changes in the market and as a result it will now focus on core projects.

PocketGamer.biz has reached out to Perfect World for comment.

Challenging quarter

In Perfect World's latest financials for Q1 2024, the company reported a net loss of ¥29.8 million ($4.1m). That represented a fall of 112.33% year-over-year from ¥241.3m ($33.2m) in Q1 2023.

Operating income, meanwhile, fell by 30.2% Y/Y to ¥1.32 billion ($182.9m).

According to AppMagic data estimates, Perfect World Mobile generated $106.6m in gross player spending from the App Store and Google Play in 2023. That marked a 56.9% decline from $247.5m in 2022.