Embracer Group is not yet done with its company-wide purge restructuring in the wake of a collapsed acquisition deal. After letting go of ten employees from Crystal Dynamics, the publisher has moved to cut more jobs at another studio.
Beamdog is the latest studio from the Embracer Group that has been hit with layoffs. The Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition developer is reportedly letting go of 26 staff members. The news comes just days after Beamdog, headed by ex-Bioware talent, released Mythforce, a new co-op shooter with an 80’s Saturday morning cartoon vibe.
The Embracer Group-owned Aspyr acquired Beamdog just 18 months ago for an undisclosed sum. Founded by former BioWare leads Trent Oster and Cameron Tofer, the studio is best known for its work on the re-release of CRPGs like Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate 2, Planescape: Torment, Neverwinter Nights, and Icewind Dale. With the acquisition, Aspyr also received the rights to publish Mythforce.
Associate graphic artist Jill Hollet shared on LinkedIn that she was part of the 26 employees affected by the job cuts. “Regrettably, as part of the Embracer Group’s ongoing restructuring initiative, Beamdog made the difficult decision to release 26 employees, myself among them. I am incredibly grateful to them for affording me the opportunity to embark upon my professional journey in the industry. It has been an honor to collaborate with such exceptional individuals during my time there.”
The Embracer Group announced back in June that it will be undergoing a company-wide restructuring which includes layoffs, closing some of its 138 studios, and canceling unannounced titles. The restructuring was triggered by the collapse of a $2 billion deal with Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group. The fallout of the deal caused a 40% drop in Embracer’s share price.
In August, Embracer announced that it is closing down long-time Saints Row developer Volition. The video game giant also considered selling off Borderlands studio Gearbox. There have been reports of Take-Two Interactive having plans to acquire Gearbox from the Embracer Group.
Embracer also closed down Campfire Cabal, one of the new studios under the conglomerate. There have also been a number of job cuts at various studios. The layoffs may continue until the end of the year.
Despite the job cuts and studio closures, Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors still believes that there is untapped potential for the company. “Across the group, we are now initiating multiple actions to strengthen our cash flow generation and leverage our portfolio of IPs to become a stronger company and setting out on a stable future to build even greater games to the benefit of gamers and fans across the globe,” Wingefors said.
Whether this is just so much hot air pushed by a detached CEO struggling to paint a better picture of a disastrous mistake, or actual hope for the future of the company remains to be seen. In any case, we’ll need to wait until the layoffs end before things can truly be rebuilt.
