Duke Nukem and Ghostrunner devs 3D Realms and Slipgate Ironworks are latest Embracer studios to suffer layoffs

16.12.2023 - 16:17 / rockpapershotgun.com

A number of staff have been laid off at 3D Realms and Slipgate Ironworks - the developers behind Ghostrunner, Shadow Warrior, Duke Nukem and more - as the game industry devastation wrought by Embracer’s restructuring efforts continues.

News of the layoffs first emerged from 3D Realms founder Scott Miller, who shared on X reports that “a lot of people, including core devs” had lost their jobs. Miller - who left 3D Realms around the time of their acquisition by Embracer in 2021 - subsequently added that “at least half the company” had reportedly been affected by the cuts.

While Embracer and the studios themselves are yet to officially confirm the layoffs, Miller’s reports were corroborated by posts from a number of former 3D Realms and Slipgate staff announcing that they had been laid off. Among those affected were lead character artist Lars Bundvad-Åmodt, sound designer Michael Markie, social media manager Alex Danino, texture artist Miguel Dominguez and game programmer Ziyad Barakat.

More and more sources have told me at least half the company (Slipgate/3DR) is laid off. We're looking at hiring at least 2-3.

3D Realms were founded as Apogee Software and are perhaps best-known for creating Duke Nukem in the early nineties, as well as publishing id Software games such as Wolfenstein 3D and Commander Keen. In 2009, in the wake of Duke Nukem Forever’s nightmarishly long road to release, the company halted their development efforts, laid off the majority of staff and handed Duke over to Gearbox, becoming largely a licensing outlet.

Five years later, they were picked up by a Danish investment company, which enveloped them into the same corporate family tree as publisher Slipgate Ironworks (then known as Interceptor Entertainment). 3D Realms returned to developing games, working on titles including cyberpunk platformer Ghostrunner alongside Slipgate. Both 3D Realms and Slipgate changed hands to Embracer in August 2021, reuniting 3DR with the Duke franchise under the megacorp’s enormous umbrella.

The two studios join a staggeringly long list of studios to have suffered layoffs this year under Embracer, which kicked off a restructuring programme over the summer that has seen over 900 people lose their jobs (though that total is almost certainly much higher already by now), veteran studios Volition and Free Radical closed - the latter just days before this latest news - and several games cancelled.

Embracer’s sweeping cuts join a brutal year for those working in games, with thousands of layoffs across companies big and small and a number of studio closures - with companies including Embracer, Unity and Dungeons & Dragons maker Hasbro saying that they expect more layoffs to continue into 2024.

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