Dead Island and Tomb Raider owner Embracer Group closing studios and cutting jobs

A “comprehensive restructuring program” at Embracer will result in studio closures, project cancellations, and job losses.

Owner of studios including Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics, Borderlands maker Gearbox, Plaion, Saber, and THQ Nordic, Embracer has suffered losses despite a huge push of acquisitions.

Though Crystal Dynamics said on social media it would not be affected by these upcoming changes, a significant impact is set to be felt across other studios under their umbrella.

In an open letter published on June 13, Embracer boss Lars Wingefors explained the changes would create a “leaner, stronger and a more focused, self-sufficient company,” with the first stage lasting until March 2024 and set to reduce the 17,000 employee headcount.

Wingefors, however, added that “it is too early to give an exact forecast” on which projects and studios would be affected, or how many jobs would be lost to the changes.

The restructure comes despite the success of Dead Island 2, which launched on April 21, 2023, and is described by Wingefors as one of the company’s “greatest successes so far” which had “exceeded our management’s already high expectations.” The same cannot be said for 2022’s reboot of the Saints Row franchise.

Groups under the Embracer studio have a number of upcoming games, many of which are due to release in the near future, including Remnant 2 on July 25 and Payday 3 on Sept. 21.

Any games currently announced are likely to be safe but Embracer’s plan to launch 234 games before March 2026, announced in November last year, will surely no longer be an attainable target.