The CEO of UK developer Rebellion, Jason Kingsley OBE, has said that part of the reason that the company has avoided layoffs is that it controls its costs very tightly. 

Speaking to PC Gamer, the exec said that his company was very good at making sure that its projects don't become too big, which has been one reason why the studio hasn't had to make cuts to staff. 

"It would be incredibly egotistical to just say it was entirely due to our incredible skill at running a company," Kingsley said. 

"I think there's always a little bit of luck involved. I think we control our budgets quite carefully. We have substantial budgets, in terms of millions and millions of pounds, but we don't have hundreds of millions of pounds. We try to make it that we can make a really good game, and it has a very decent chance of making a profit. And that's really what it comes down to."

He continued, speaking about Rebellion's preference for smaller titles rather than sprawling epics: "I prefer a small, really good game than a really big kind of game that isn't focused down on what's important for the player," Kingsley says. "We're just very professional with controlling scope and costs. Sometimes we say, guys, this game's too big."

The exec also said that Rebellion has a balance of projects that ensures a certain level of reliability; two-thirds of its games are sequels or established brands, while the remaining third is experimental or new projects. 

"We've got a responsibility to team members and staff. We don't want to hire and fire people all the time. There's so much job loss going on in the industry, it's frightening at the moment. We haven't had to go in that direction, and we don't want to go in that direction, so we've got to keep a balance."