Relic Entertainment, the studio behind Company of Heroes and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, has announced layoffs following its move to independence last week.
In a post on the official Relic LinkedIn page (thanks, Eurogamer), the studio says that letting staff go was "not an easy decision", but that it would give the company the "best possible chance to survive in an increasingly volatile industry".
Relic's external development producer Robyn Smale also posted about the layoffs, confirming that they have hit 41 staffers across Relic, although it's not clear exactly who's affected. Smale says that given Relic has been on a "bumpy road" lately, the layoffs aren't surprising, but they are "a shame, none the less".
This news comes after Sega and Relic cut ties last week, with Relic transitioning to independence as a result of the sale.
That decision came alongside a wider batch of layoffs on Sega's part, mostly affecting staff at Sega Europe, as well as Total War studio Creative Assembly and mobile developer Sega Hardlight.
When the split was announced, Relic also confirmed that it would continue to support its current lineup of games, including Company of Heroes 3, which was released last year.
Relic's layoffs come as part of a wider industry pattern that has affected larger and smaller studios alike.
In recent months, studios as diverse as Apex Legends developer Respawn, The Expanse and Life Is Strange studio Deck Nine, and Dark Pictures creator Supermassive Games have all been hit by layoffs of varying degrees.
The layoff wave has also hit industry titans like Sony, Microsoft, and tabletop giant Hasbro, with hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of jobs being cut from those studios.
It's becoming a common refrain, but it's unlikely that we've seen the last of these layoffs. Stay tuned for more on this and all other things gaming industry-adjacent.
