Even without Embracer Group laying off hundreds of employees and closing studios, 2023 would still be remembered as a year of layoffs for the games industry.
But Embracer Group has certainly made it feel a lot worse, and there’s been no sign unfortunately that the bleeding will stop anytime soon.
Everything under Embracer Group is at the risk of suffering layoffs or being entirely closed down, and that includes Timesplitters developer Free Radical Design, a team that was only revived two years ago, and Embracer doesn’t deny this.
When asked directly about Free Radical’s fate, and if it could close, chief executive officer Lars Wingefors said “In general, I can say that there are many situations in workplaces around the world that will possibly lead to a restructuring.”
“Then you have to conduct a union negotiation or take other legal measures to complete something. This discussion cannot occur. That’s my answer.”
Wingefors doesn’t say they will be closing, but what’s important is that he doesn’t deny that it could, leaving the possibility open.
This isn’t exactly how fans pictured things would go for Free Radical Design after it was triumphantly restored, thanks to Embracer Group.
Hopefully this doesn’t come to pass, and Free Radical can survive the cuts that have not stopped coming.
Source – [VGC]