By Ash Parrish, a reporter who has covered the business, culture, and communities of video games for seven years. Previously, she worked at Kotaku.
16.11.2023 - 12:03 / ign.com / Lars Wingefors
Embracer Group has said it has laid off 904 staff, or 5% of its workforce, since its financial struggles began following the collapse of a $2 billion deal, reportedly with Saudi government funded company Savvy Games Group.
The Swedish firm has come under fire for the sweeping cuts it has made so far in 2023, including the closure of long-running Saints Row maker Volition. During a financial presentation, Embracer said its internal headcount was reduced by 713 people (511 developers and 202 non-developers), and its external developer headcount was reduced by 191. In total, 15 mostly unannounced projects were “written down” across Amplifier, Freemode, Gearbox, Plaion, Saber, and THQ Nordic, Embracer said.
In a presentation to deliver Embracer's Q2 financial report, CEO Lars Wingefors thanks all the staff he had let go. "Before we get into the business details of our second quarter, I want to start this conference by saying a personal thank you to the 900 people who left Embracer during the second quarter,” he said.
“As you will hear today, we are determined to transform Embracer into a leaner, stronger company. That said, it’s painful to me that you need to leave the group, and we have been, and are doing, everything we can to preserve jobs without changing what we need to achieve.
“Our people are what make up the very fabric of Embracer. For me personally, it’s crucial that the programme is carried out with compassion, respect and integrity.”
It’s not going to stop there either. Embracer said ongoing restructuring, closures, or buy-outs are in process and “will lead to further headcount reductions”. That means more layoffs are coming.
Borderlands developer Gearbox is reportedly up for sale, although IGN sources have said Embracer is struggling to find a buyer at its asking price. Embracer bought Gearbox in February 2021 as part of an acquisition spree that included snapping up Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics, among many other studios.
“Process involving possible consolidation of companies and businesses is ongoing, implementation expected to accelerate in [the fourth quarter of this financial year],” Embracer said. “Our restructuring program is making good progress, with opex savings ahead of plan and capex savings expected to contribute notably in the second half of the year,” Wingefors added. “We continue to take important steps for the future and I am confident that we will emerge as a stronger company.”
Wingefors' comments will do little to reduce the stress and anxiety Embracer’s hundreds of staff currently face going into the holiday season. Earlier this month, VGC reported TimeSplitters developer Free Radical Design is at threat of being closed just two years after it was re-established.
By Ash Parrish, a reporter who has covered the business, culture, and communities of video games for seven years. Previously, she worked at Kotaku.
New World Interactive, a subsidiary of Saber Interactive, is seeing layoffs. The studio is the latest one under the overall Embracer Group umbrella to face layoffs as part of the company’s major restructuring.
Dauntless and Fae Farm developer Pheonix Labs has laid off 34 employees across its support teams.
Google's position as king of the search engines is under threat like never before, but the firm's global policy chief told AFP this week it still had the edge over its AI competitors.
Embracer management has now apparently confirmed Free Radical Design's closure to its staff.
After reports from earlier this month that developer Free Radical Design—which had been working on a revival of classic sci-fi shooter TimeSplitters—was on the verge of being shut down, Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors has seemingly confirmed internally that the studio will be closed before Christmas.
Embracer Group’s restructuring efforts have hit another of the company’s studios. This time, around 50 employees have been let go from Fishlabs, a studio known for Galaxy on Fire and bringing Valheim to Xbox.
The Embracer mass layoffs train has come for Fishlabs, the Hamburg-based studio behind space shooter Chorus. Embracer have laid off more than half the Fishlabs team - "around 50 people" - as part of a restructuring operation that has already seen the Swedish conglomerate cut over 900 jobs across their business over the summer.
The OpenAI-Sam Altman saga continues to dominate the headlines in the artificial intelligence space for the 5th day in a row. Today, November 21, reports revealed that OpenAI is now under intense discussions to quell the staff mutiny that saw 500+ employees threatening to resign from the company if Altman was not reinstated. In other news, Wipro and Nvidia formed a partnership to help healthcare companies accelerate the adoption of AI. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let us take a closer look.
Embracer Group, the Swedish video game and media holding corporation responsible for a wide range of intellectual properties and game studios, has announced that it's laid off a total of 900 employees over the past three months.
Embracer boss Lars Wingefors is staying tight-lipped on the current state of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake.
Embracer Group released its latest financial report, which included updates on how their restructuring is going so far. With debt down to about $1.4 billion, there’s still more to go, even after laying off a confirmed 904 people so far.