Observed Signal · Aug 11, 2026 · Layoffs · Source: Mobilegamer.biz · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Negative
SciPlay Cuts 20 Jobs in Israel
SciPlay has cut about 20 jobs at its Ramat Gan development hub, roughly 7% of the site's ~300-person workforce. SciPlay Games Israel — described as a strategic development and growth centre that arose partly from Light & Wonder’s 2014 acquisition of Dragonplay — accounts for about one-third of SciPlay’s global headcount and handles engineering, product, data science/analytics, UI/UX and digital marketing. The studio develops and operates free-to-play social casino titles including Quick Hit Slots, 88 Fortunes and Hot Shot Casino, and its Israeli operations are managed by Chief Revenue Officer Noga Halperin. The reductions, which affect multiple disciplines, follow a separate round of cuts in June and come after parent company Light & Wonder reported a 7% year-on-year revenue decline to $187m in the first quarter; SciPlay has not publicly tied the latest cuts to any strategic review.
Company-level layoffs at a major game studio and reported revenue decline at its parent signal weakness in the social casino market; relevant to gaming publishers and workforce but not industry-shifting.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- SciPlay cut about 20 jobs at its Ramat Gan site, roughly 7% of the ~300 local workforce.
- SciPlay Games Israel accounts for roughly one-third of SciPlay’s global headcount.
- The centre develops and operates free-to-play social casino titles including Quick Hit Slots, 88 Fortunes and Hot Shot Casino and covers engineering, product, data, UI/UX and marketing.
- The reductions follow a June round of cuts and Light & Wonder reported a 7% year-on-year revenue decline to $187m in Q1.
- SciPlay is fully owned by Light & Wonder; Israeli operations are managed by Chief Revenue Officer Noga Halperin and partly stem from Light & Wonder’s 2014 acquisition of Dragonplay.
Connected Companies & Entities
1 Entity mapped“The Ramat Gan-based team builds free-to-play social casino games under licensed Las Vegas casino brands for parent company Light & Wonder.”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Mobile games hires and promotions at multiple studios
A jobs digest reports a series of hires and promotions across mobile games studios. Lil Snack appointed Bill Kang as its first chief operating officer, joining after 12 years at Supercell. Scopely added John Yang as senior director of design, Miquel Gil as senior product manager, and Tim Fitzgerald as senior QA analyst on Monopoly Go. Playdemic named Stephen Quinney art director of Golf Clash. Cypher Games hired Paulina Arstein as director of game analytics (formerly at Playtika/Jelly Button). Qwacks appointed Mahmoud Ziater as commercial lead. Nordeus onboarded eight new starters across engineering, data science and internships. The piece is a sponsored jobs roundup published on 2026-07-27.
Wix to Cut About 20% of Workforce
Israel-based web development company Wix announced plans to lay off roughly 20% of its workforce. CEO Avishai Abrahami said in a post on X that the decision was driven by the rapid evolution of AI capabilities and pressure from a strengthening Israeli shekel against the U.S. dollar. Abrahami indicated the company will reduce layers of leadership to speed decision-making. CNBC reported the announcement on May 28, 2026; Wix did not immediately provide additional details to CNBC.
Mobile games industry: multiple hiring moves
A jobs digest reports hiring and internal promotions across the mobile games sector. Notable appointments include Maggy Katz and William Hughes at Scopely; Jose Saarniniemi at Metacore to lead Merge Mansion; Michael Scalzitti at Electronic Arts; Yoji Hirano at Roblox for developer relations in Japan; and multiple hires at Apple Arcade, Zynga, Outfit7, Fateless Games, Miniclip, Google, Blizzard, Unity, King, Motorsport Games, Duolingo, Anzu and others. The piece lists many senior and junior roles — product, marketing, monetisation, communications, commercial and C-suite hires — and names new board members at the UK trade body TIGA. The article is a recruitment roundup rather than reporting on product launches or financial events.
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