The Verge reported that the company had let go 14 people from its 55-member staff, or about 25 percent of the total number of Vulcun’s people.
In an email to The Verge, Vulcun co-founder Ali Moiz said the layoffs were part of a “painful but necessary process” as the company transitions to a different direction.
“We are actively helping these people look for new jobs,” Moiz told the news outlet.
It’s a strange turn of events for the company who has boasted of having “the largest prize pools in fantasy sports.” In its website, Vulcun said it has paid out more than $10 million to players in the past year, noting that it had about 16,000 players in one of its contents in the past 24 hours.
The company might be on the up and up, but the fantasy eSports market has recently been hit with legal difficulties after daily fantasy sports operators DraftKings and FanDuel began adding eSports in their arsenal. The two main daily fantasy sports operators had dipped their toes into the competitive gaming pool via FanDuel’s purchase of AlphaDraft and DraftKings’ launch of an in-house offering.
Early this month, Vulcun announced that it will stop accepting real-money fantasy wagers on eSports teams due to regulatory concerns in the United States. In a notice, the company said it would “phase out paid fantasy” starting Jan. 14, which, incidentally, also marks the start of the new season of the League of Legends Championship Series.
According to the company, the “current legal landscape” in the United States has made it “difficult” for Vulcun to fulfill its goal of making eSports more engaging and fun through fantasy wagering.
Moiz told The Verge to expect “more announcements” about the company’s “new direction coming shortly in the next few weeks.” Meanwhile, a source close to the matter told the news outlet Vulcun had recently acquired companies related to eSports streaming.
