Machine Zone CEO out as AppLovin lays off 97 staff
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Ad tech firm AppLovin is laying off 97 staff, according to a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) filing in California.
The job losses were effective as of March 21st, 2025. It follows on from a filing on January 15th, in which it said it would be making 89 employees redundant.
PocketGamer.biz has obtained the WARN filings, with the latest document stating that 11 staff have been permanently laid off, while also listing dozens more roles. The filing lists many similar affected roles to the January notice.
Machine Zone job cuts
Positions impacted include the CEO and design director at Machine Zone, the developer behind hit mobile games such as Mobile Strike, Game of War and Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire.
In a previous notice, AppLovin also listed the studio’s CTO as being affected by job cuts.
A number of staff have been let go from the developer in recent months, according to LinkedIn posts from affected employees.
One former staff member claimed “most of Machine Zone was shut down”.
AppLovin declined to comment on the layoffs. We have followed up about the status of Machine Zone.
AppLovin has filed a string of other notices over the past year. As well as filings in March and January, in November it submitted a notice to make 120 staff redundant.
It also had two filings in October, one for 58 employees and another for 65 staff, while in August it filed for 61 job cuts.
Company “streamlining”
Last year, Applovin-owned mobile app measurement and marketing company Adjust laid off a number of staff. It’s not clear if the job losses are related to AppLovin’s previous filings.
Around the same time, Adjust also appointed former chairman Andrey Kazakov as its new CEO.
In an earnings call for the company’s Q4 financials, in response to a question about recruitment and “streamlining”, CEO Adam Foroughi said there had been a focus on the latter. Foroughi has also highlighted a focus on revenue per employee in recent earnings
“We’re one of the most financially lucrative businesses to be constantly announcing layoffs,” he said at the time.
“Now, we don’t want to constantly be doing that. But since I took over HR, my job was to go, where are the areas of the business that are not perfectly aligned with these organic opportunities and let’s start shedding those so that we can really narrow in and focus on what’s in front of us.
“And so we’re really getting to that place. And once we get there, I think it’s going to be even more exciting times here.”
Short-sellers, TikTok, and Tripledot
AppLovin has been making numerous headlines this year. The fast-growing ad tech company has been hit by short-seller reports questioning its business practices, resulting in drops in its share price.
Foroughi has previously labelled reports as “false and misleading”.
Meanwhile, the firm has put its hat in the ring to merge with TikTok’s international business outside of China. It’s one of a number of companies interested in acquiring the popular social media sharing app, following the US divest-or-ban law forcing a sale in the country.
Foroughi said the app was “undermonetised” and claimed AppLovin would be the ideal partner as it could combine its own advertising personalisation algorithm with the platform’s recommendation algorithm.
Meanwhile, AppLovin is also set to sell its games business to UK developer Tripledot for $900 million, according to sources.
The deal could see the acquirer borrow up to $250m in cash. If it’s unable to obtain the money, AppLovin will provide financing through the issuance of a promissory note.
