Embracer Group Confirms it Has Laid off Around 900 People as Part of its Restructuring Program

Dauntless and Fae Farm developer Pheonix Labs has laid off 34 employees across its support teams.

In June last year, it was confirmed that Naughty Dog president Neil Druckmann’s next directorial single player project had entered development, and there’s been plenty of speculation since then about whether that game is going to be a third Last of Us entry. A story outline for a sequel has apparently been ready for a while, and leaks have also claimed that The Last of Us Part 3 is indeed in development– though an actor who has played a major role in both previous titles doesn’t seem to have started working on the game.

It’s been a tough ol’ year for people working in the corporate video game world. Publishers and studios have been laying people off at an alarming rate. Embracer Group is just one example, and it’s recently been suggested that the holding company may be closing down Free Radical Design.

Around 50 job cuts are expected to be made at German studio Fishlabs, as Embracer Group’s restructuring program continues. 

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.

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.

TimeSplitters studio Free Radical Design faces closure before Christmas, Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors has privately acknowledged.

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.

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 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.