Summary
Sega laid off 240 employees from its studios in Europe and sold Relic Entertainment, responsible for the Company of Heroes franchise, to cut costs.
Sega Hardlight, from Sonic Dream Team (photo), was also affected by the layoffs
Photo: Reproduction / Sega
Sega said it laid off 240 employees at its European studios and sold Company of Heroes’ Relic Entertainment to cut costs.
Most of the layoffs affected Creative Assembly, responsible for the Total War franchise, and Sega’s European office. The cuts come after Creative Assembly already went through a round of layoffs last year, following the cancellation of the game as a service, Hyenas.
With the sale of Relic, the studio will become independent, supported by a “external investor”. As disclosed in the https://twitter.com/relicgames/status/1773244490171458017, Relic said support for Company of Heroes 3 will continue. It is worth remembering that in May last year the studio also went through layoffs, sending 121 people away.
One “small number” of employees at Sega Hardlight, located in the United Kingdom and responsible for Sonic Dream Team, was also affected by the layoffs.
According to Sega, the decisions were necessary due to an evolving financial scenario. “quick change”a result of fewer people staying at home after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to the “economic recession caused by inflation, etc.”meaning that “profitability was reduced”.
In an email sent to Sega employees and which was obtained by Eurogamer, the company’s European head, Jurgen Post, apologized to everyone affected, but stressed that the “Change is necessary to secure the future of our gaming business and to ensure we are well positioned to deliver the best possible experiences to our players from now on.”
Phil Spencer recently said what motivated the layoffs that occurred at Activision Blizzard at the beginning of the year, showing concern about the “lack of growth” in the industry.
Source: Game On
