According to reports, SEGA plans to lay off 240 people at many of its studios. Studios such as “Total War” developer Creative Assembly, SEGA Europe and “Sonic Dream Team” developer Hardlight will be affected by the layoffs. At the same time, the publisher announced the sale of Company of Heroes developer Relic, which now plans to become independent.
The news is the latest in a wave of layoffs in the gaming industry this year, particularly at large publishers, with Microsoft laying off 1,900 employees from its video game division in late January and PlayStation laying off 900 employees last month. While these layoffs aren’t that large, Sega of America announced plans late last year to controversially “phase out” temporary workers, laying off 61 employees earlier this year.
According to GamesIndustry.biz, most of the layoffs will affect employees at Creative Assembly and Sega Europe, while the number of layoffs at Hardlight appears to be smaller. Two Point Studios and Football Manager developer Sports Interactive, both owned by Sega, were not mentioned as part of the layoffs.
In addition to the news of layoffs, Sega also revealed that it had sold Company of Heroes developer Relic Entertainment, and Relic has since confirmed that it plans to become an independently operated studio. “Sega is working closely with Relic on this transition and we wish them all the best in the future,” Sega Europe head Jurgen Post wrote in an email informing employees of the change.
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He went on to write: “I would like to sincerely apologize for the concern and understandable pain this news has caused, especially for those directly affected.” “
As for the reasons behind these moves, Post used some phrases that align with sentiments we’ve heard from gaming industry executives many times recently. He outlines: “We need to streamline our processes, focus on what we are good at and position ourselves as best we can for the future path. To do this we need to respond to the changing economic situation and the challenges we face.” We develop products and bringing it to market has its challenges. “
In a statement posted on Twitter, Relic revealed that it will continue to support its game and publish Company of Heroes 3 as it transitions to independence with the help of an unnamed “external investor.” 3″ update, the latter wrote: “We look forward to the 1.6 update in April, which contains new content and features requested by our community.”