Tel Aviv, Dec 13 (IANS): Israeli mobile games company Playtika has laid off 15 per cent of its workforce, or about 615 employees, across Europe, Israel and the US, the media reported.

According to TechCrunch, the company which publishes titles such as 'Best Fiends' will also completely discontinue three games, 'MergeStories', 'Dicelife' and 'Ghost Detective' as it seeks to rationalise costs across the board.

"Playtika's success is rooted in our agility, efficiency, creativity and obsession with delivering the most fun forms of mobile entertainment to our players," CEO Robert Antokol was quoted as saying.

"We believe the structure announced today further leverages our core strengths of delivering superior in-game experiences and scaling mobile games to global franchises in continuation of growth. Saying goodbye to talented colleagues and friends is difficult," he added.

As the tech sector as a whole continues to struggle, Playtika, a public company on Nasdaq, has had an especially difficult year, according to the report.

After its IPO in June 2021, it reached a market capitalisation of over $14 billion on its first day of trading with a share price of $27 and a valuation of over $11 billion.

The company saw a significant rise in usage among pandemic consumers who were locked up at home and avoiding in-person social situations, said the report.

Playtika, which was founded in 2010, has been known for its casino-themed games and operates apps for poker and solitaire.

Back in June, Playtika laid off 250 employees, or about 6 per cent of its workforce, in three game development studios in Los Angeles, Montreal and London.