More layoffs have hit the gaming industry under the severely leaking Embracer umbrella, with more layoffs reported at Danish publisher and developer 3D Realms.
The developer and its development arm Slipgate Ironworks, which are owned by Embracer Group via their parent company Saber Interactive, appear to have suffered an unconfirmed number of layoffs across their staff.
These include composer, sound designer, and level designer Michael Marke and social and event coordinator Alex Danino, both of whom mentioned having been let go on their X (formerly Twitter) accounts.
At the moment, the full extent of the layoffs remains unknown, but TechRaptor reached out to 3D Realms' PR asking for clarity on the issue, and we'll update this post if we receive more information.
Update 1/3/2024: More layoffs at 3D Realms and Slipgate Ironworks have been reported by founder Scott Miller and confirmed on their X (formerly Twitter) accountsby several employees who have lost their jobs, including Gustaw Mackay, Alex Popa, Arthur Biver, Johnny Josefsen, Hexenkraft, and more.
Considering the number of reports. It looks like a rather extensive cut to the publisher and developer's workforce, albeit its full extent remains unknown.
3D Realms just recently showcased its lineup of upcoming games at the Realms Deep show in September, including Phantom Fury, Kingpin: Reloaded, Graven, Tempest Rising, Twisted Tower, and many more. At the moment, we don't know whether the layoffs will impact the games that haven't been released yet.
In August 2021, 3D Realms and Slipgate Ironworks were acquired by Embracer and placed under the purview of Saber Interactive, among a wave of acquisitions that led to the group owning a massive number of studios directly or through subsidiaries.
In May this year, the group announced that a "groundbreaking" strategic partnership in the works had fallen through and almost immediately started downsizing, triggering layoffs and studio closures.
Among the studios affected, we have seen Volition, Cryptic Studios, Free Radical, New World Interactive, and more.
While it's one of the most prominent examples, Embracer isn't alone in enacting widespread layoffs in what appears to be an annus terribilis for the gaming industry in terms of employment. Many other companies like Sony, Bungie, Epic Games, Microsoft, Amazon, Frontier, Team17, and more have also gone down the downsizing road.
