New World Interactive has been hit with layoffs amid Embracer Group's restructuring program.
23.11.2023 - 19:07 / pcgamer.com / Phil Rogers
Layoffs have been one of the defining events of the games industry this year, with thousands of jobs being cut across dozens of companies, all attempting to slash costs as the rapid economic growth of the pandemic years comes screeching to a halt. No company is more emblematic of both these extremes than Embracer Group. In the last few years, Embracer has embarked upon a frenzied spending spree, snapping up studios like Gearbox, Crystal Dynamics Eidos Montreal, and many more, all apparently to stack the decks in a deal with an unknown partner worth at least $2 billion.
But that deal fell through, saddling Embracer with $1.5 billion in debt. Immediately, Embracer began a ruthless effort to start climbing out of the red. The company laid off 904 people between July and the end of September, which included closing Volition, the developer of Saints Row. An unspecified number have also been laid off since, and those won't be the last either.
In the midst of all this, Embracer's interim chief strategy officer Phil Rogers has spoken to Gamesindustry.biz about the company's attempts to reduce its debt, and the resulting restructuring program. Safe to say, it makes for interesting reading.
On the debt itself, which Embracer has reduced from $1.5bn to $1.4bn, Rogers says Embracer feels «like we're on track against our targets that we've set out.» He specifies the plan is to «readjust that games pipeline down to the run rate» of «SEK 5 billion ($478.4million)» going into next fiscal year. In addition to reducing the debt, Rogers says Embracer is asking itself broader questions about how to «transform ourselves into a leaner, stronger, more focused and—critically—cash self-sufficient company».
As for the people who have lost their jobs and livelihoods as a consequence of all this, Rogers says that it's been «an agonising process», but that «we know it's a necessary thing for us to hit our new and needed goals. So overall, good progress and we push on,» adding that restructuring is «how we win.»
To say the least, it's eyebrow-raising seeing someone refer to laying off hundreds of people as «good progress». But the interview also provides some insight into the inner workings of Embracer. The group currently has over 200 games in development across the studios that it owns, and it recently conducted a review to assess which of these projects should continue, and which might feasibly be cut.
To do this Rogers says they look at «entertainment values». Foremost among these is that the game has to be «fun to play», which isn't exactly the most incisive observation. But Rogers also states that he's «never a big fan of the 'fewer, bigger, better' approach» preferring to spread the risk across more smaller titles. This
New World Interactive has been hit with layoffs amid Embracer Group's restructuring program.
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.
Saber Interactive subsidiary New World Interactive has experienced layoffs, affected by Embracer's ongoing restructuring program.
Fae Farm and Dauntless developers Phoenix Labs have cut 34 jobs following an internal review. It's a sad end to a busy year for the Canadian studio, who bought their independence back from previous owner Garena in February, and laid off 9 per cent of their workforce in May.
There's more bad news out of struggling gaming conglomerate Embracer: The company has confirmed that approximately 50 employees are being laid off from Chorus developer Fishlabs, and is also reportedly looking at closing TimeSplitters studio Free Radical Design completely.
TimeSplitters studio Free Radical could be closed before Christmas, megacorp owner Embracer has reportedly told staff, as dozens of staff at the UK studio are said to be looking for new roles.
It's been a 'fun' and 'interesting' year for Unity. A retroactive runtime fee that drew the anger of basically every developer leading to a change in leadership, an AI program it's only recently done due diligence on, and some big, sweeping layoffs.
German developer Fishlabs is the latest Embracer outfit to experience job cuts.
Around 50 job cuts are expected to be made at German studio Fishlabs, as Embracer Group’s restructuring program continues.
Three weeks after it was reported by VGC that Free Radical Design was allegedly being threatened with closure, Embracer Group’s CEO, Lars Wingefors, has reportedly acknowledged this threat within a company email (shared with VGC by anonymous sources).
2023 has been a turbulent year for Embracer Group, with a number of its many studios and projects having been affected by widespread layoffs and an internal restructuring initiative. Now, another studio under the company’s umbrella has been hit with significant layoffs.
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.