Nine hundred employees across Embracer Group have been laid off in the second fiscal quarter, according to CEO Lars Wingefors during an earnings presentation on Nov. 16. The total number of employees is tallied at approximately five percent of Embracer Group’s total workforce.
The company began restructuring early in 2023, with layoffs being reported at Gearbox, the creator of the Borderlands series. Part of the financial concerns began earlier, with Embracer reporting that “we were informed that one major strategic partnership that has been negotiated for seven months will not materialize.”
The deal that collapsed was reportedly a massive $2 billion deal with the Savvy Games Group, which is funded in part by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.
Embracer dropped a bag of over $1 billion to purchase Gearbox, only to reportedly be looking to sell the company not even three years after acquiring it. Crystal Dynamics, the makers of Tomb Raider, and Volition, the makers of Saints Row, collapsed completely. Deus Ex, Duke Nukem, Legacy of Kain, and many others are notable games under the Embracer umbrella.
The layoffs are the latest set to be confirmed beyond all shadow of a doubt in what’s becoming a bloodbath of a year in the gaming industry. Layoffs have affected nearly every single major publisher, developer, and holdings group, even as profits have soared to record highs.
There’s currently no official word on how the sale of Gearbox is progressing, or if Embracer Group is able to recoup even a fraction of what it paid for the company. It seems like Embracer, which holds substantial sway in the gaming space based on the IPs and franchises it owns, is heading for tough times.
