Phoenix Labs
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Phoenix Labs was a Vancouver, Canada game studio founded in 2014 by former Riot Games developers Jesse Houston, Sean Bender and Robin Mayne. Its flagship game Dauntless — a free-to-play co-op action RPG — launched in 2019 to 500,000 players across Epic Games Store, Xbox and PlayStation, as an early adopter of cross-platform play. The studio later made Fae Farm (2023), a fairy-farming simulator, and raised about $3.5 million before being acquired by Garena (Sea Ltd) in 2020.
02 / Phoenix Labs FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Dauntless never recaptured its 2019 momentum: by 2025 it averaged only 130–160 concurrent players, and the controversial 'Awakening' update (new monetisation, lost progression) drew overwhelmingly negative Steam reviews. After Garena divested the studio in 2023, a quiet acquisition by blockchain company Forte Labs brought turmoil — over 160 layoffs, cancelled projects (including the dragon-themed 'Project Dragon' in 2024), and pressure to integrate blockchain mechanics. In January 2025 Phoenix Labs laid off a majority of the studio.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Studio founded
Ex-Riot developers Jesse Houston, Sean Bender and Robin Mayne found Phoenix Labs in Vancouver.
- Dauntless launch
Dauntless launches as a free-to-play co-op action RPG, drawing 500,000 players at launch with cross-platform play.
- Garena acquisition
Garena (Sea Ltd) acquires Phoenix Labs; the studio spins up multiple new projects including Fae Farm.
- Forte acquisition
Garena divests Phoenix Labs; blockchain gaming company Forte Labs quietly acquires the studio (framed at the time as an 'investor-backed management buyout').
- Majority layoffs
Two years after the Forte deal, Phoenix Labs lays off a majority of the studio; Dauntless is averaging 130–160 concurrent players.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Phoenix Labs launched Dauntless to 500,000 players in 2019, then joined Garena in 2020 and shipped Fae Farm.
- 02
Garena divested the studio in 2023; blockchain firm Forte quietly took over amid layoffs and cancelled projects.
- 03
Dauntless declined to ~130 concurrent players after a poorly received monetisation update.
- 04
In January 2025, Phoenix Labs laid off a majority of the studio.