It seems like there isn't a month that goes by that we don't hear about another round of layoffs or studio closures from Embracer Group. One of the biggest ones was the closure of the Saints Row developer Volition. Last week we covered Embracer Group doing personnel cuts at Tiny Tina's Wonderlands support studio Lost Boys Interactive. There have also been reports of Embracer trying to sell off Gearbox. There have been dozens of other reports of layoffs that we haven't covered. Reports from people being let go from Eidos Montreal and Crystal Dynamics have also hit the news waves over the past 6 months. Timesplitters developer Free Radical Design was also closed down right before the holidays in 2023.
This starkly contrasts with Xbox, which is continually trying to hire new talent and grow its longstanding and newly acquired studios. That being said, it would be naive to think that Xbox will always be this invested in its gaming arm, and if nothing else Embracer Group should be seen as a cautionary tale of the dangers of overzealous consolidation.
