Game service provider Testronic reportedly intends to shutter Secret 6 Madrid and make at least 42 employees redundant.
The game development and art studio has offices in both Manila and Madrid, but it seems the latter has now been placed on the chopping block less than three years after it was purchased by Testronic and parent company Catalis Group.
The Spanish outfit has worked on notable titles including Diablo IV, The Last of Us: Part II—Remastered, Lords of the Fallen, PGA Tour, Madden NFL, and Silent Hill: Ascension.
Multiple employees announced the closure on Linkedin and suggested the decision was made without warning or reason. Secret 6 Madrid lead game producer Patricia Menéndez said the studio will potentially wind down on July 31, 2025, and placed the blame at the door of corporate leadership.
She said the team’s efforts to fight back have so far been unsuccessful.
“If confirmed, the closure would affect 42 people: an exceptional team of 2D, 3D, and VFX artists specialising in AAA video games, as well as professionals in production and human resources,” she added.
“We face this situation with deep sadness at the injustice it represents, but also with the strong conviction that this team is made up of brilliant professionals: people with talent, commitment, and an immense passion for their work, who will continue to fight to the very end to keep doing what they do best.”
Others corroborated those reports, including lead 3D artist Angel Blanco and art manager Adrián Sanz Cárcamo.
Cárcamo again stated the situation was communicated to employees without any prior warning or solid rationale.
“Our Madrid local management team had no idea and was equally astonished,” he wrote in a scathing LinkedIn post. “Testronic, a subsidiary of Catalis group, acquired our company, Secret 6, in the last quarter of 2022. And since then, they have done nothing. They watched us in the most absolute of silences—and they let us die.”
Secret 6 was sharing job listings on Linkedin less than a week ago. It’s unclear whether Secret 6 Manila is also facing cuts.
Game Developer has reached out to Testronic for comment.