Snapchat proprietor Snap Inc. has confirmed it plans to put off roughly 20 p.c of its workforce and cease investing in video video games. The information comes with year-on-year income development on the firm falling “effectively under” expectations.

As noticed by Engadget and confirmed in a memo despatched to traders, Snap mentioned it is going to cut back its international headcount by roughly 20 p.c so it could actually refocus on prime priorities and “drive in the direction of profitability.”

Elaborating additional, Snap indicated its three strategic priorities transferring ahead shall be “group development, income development, and augmented actuality,” noting that initiatives that do not “instantly contribute” to these areas will obtain much less funding or be discontinued fully.

That means the corporate’s online game plans are being shelved indefinitely, with the choice coming round three years after Snap launched its sport platform in partnership with builders like Zynga and Spry Fox.

“We have labored thoughtfully and intentionally to seek out the precise stability between focusing our investments whereas persevering with to innovate, and we’ve got made the choice to discontinue our investments in Snap Originals, Minis, Games, and Pixy, amongst different areas,” reads the memo.

Snapchat’s video games had reportedly reached 200 million customers as of May 2021, and in addition boasted round 30 million month-to-month lively customers. Those figures urged that, on the time, over 16 p.c of Snapchat customers had been enjoying video games on the social media platform.

Commenting additional on the layoffs and discontinuation of sure initiatives, Snap mentioned it was “deeply sorry” in regards to the choice, however urged the “extent of this discount ought to considerably cut back the chance of ever having to do that once more.”