The Embracer Group, which has been cutting lots of jobs and even shutting down whole game studios for the past several months, is still not done with its restructuring. Today, it was reported that 97 team members at developer Eidos Montreal have been laid off. The studios reportedly employed 481 people as of 2022.
As first reported by Bloomberg, the mass layoffs at Eidos Montreal also include the cancelation of a new game in the developer's long running Deus Ex series of titles. While there were rumors of a new game in the cyberpunk-themed action-RPG series, Embracer never officially announced the new entry. Bloomberg stated the game had been in development for two years and was about to enter into full production.
Eurogamer posted a statement from Eidos Montreal about the layoffs, which did not mention the cancelation of the Deus Ex game. It said in part:
We are working to support all impacted personnel through this transition. These very talented, highly experienced people are entering the employment market, and we want them to find their next projects and are helping to do so.
Bloomberg reported that the remaining Eidos Montreal team members will now be working on an original game.
Back in June 2023, Embracer announced a restructuring after a $2 billion financial deal with a Saudi Arabia-based investment group was canceled at the last minute. Since then Embracer has completely shut down Saints Row developer Volition and Timesplitters' studio Free Radical Design, well before it was supposed to launch a new game in the series.
It's also made the decision to cut large percentages of the workforce at many other game studios it owns, including 3D Realms, Beamdog, Crystal Dynamics, Lost Toys Interactive, and most recently Black Forest Games, which reportedly resulted in half of its team members being cut. Embracer previously said this restructuring will finally end by the end of March 2024.
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