Mobile gaming Playtika to Lay Off 500 Employees Amid Game Portfolio Restructuring

Playtika said on Wednesday it will lay off approximately 15% of its global workforce as part of a broad strategic shift aimed at aligning its cost structure with changing economic conditions in the highly competitive mobile gaming industry.

In a letter to employees, Playtika Chief Executive Robert Antokol said the move reflects a “fundamental change” in how the company operates, intended to preserve its ability to invest in future growth while maintaining its market leadership.

Playtika currently employs about 3,500 people worldwide, including roughly 1,000 in Israel.

Part of Ongoing Downsizing

The company said the latest layoffs are part of workforce reductions announced about two months ago. Israeli business daily Calcalist reported in November that Playtika was considering cutting as many as 750 jobs, or about 20% of its staff, a report the company declined to comment on at the time.

Antokol said that for years, Playtika operated with a growth-oriented mindset and applied similar resource-allocation models across its entire portfolio of games. That approach, he wrote, is no longer viable given the industry’s new economic realities.

Under the revised strategy, Playtika will apply different operating principles to different types of games. The company plans to invest heavily in titles with strong growth potential, maintain leadership in category-leading casual games, maximize long-term value from its social casino games, and halt investment in games that lack a clear path forward.

“Without the necessary adjustments to our cost structure today, our ability to invest in growth and the future will be compromised,” Antokol wrote.

Leaner Teams, AI and Automation

The CEO stressed that the current move differs from previous rounds of downsizing and marks the start of a new chapter for the company. Playtika will shift from large, expanding teams to leaner, more efficient units supported by artificial intelligence and automation.

Strategic priorities outlined by management include sustaining category-leading games through more efficient management, building a long-term development pipeline for new titles, expanding direct-to-consumer sales, using AI to improve optimization and personalization, and retaining top talent while focusing efforts on the highest-return opportunities.

Employee Support

Playtika said it will offer compensation packages and support to employees affected by the layoffs, though it did not provide further details.