Embracer Group, the video game industry’s corporate grim reaper, has reportedly laid off nearly one hundred workers at its Eidos Montreal studio as it cancels development on a new Deus Ex franchise entry. The news comes by way of reporter Jason Schreier over at Bloomberg, stating that employees of Eidos had anonymously confirmed that a new Deus Ex game had been in pre-production for the better part of two years now and was slated to enter full production soon.
As part of its ongoing efforts to financially stabilise, Embracer has now cancelled the project and will move Eidos to work on a new franchise, leaving ninety-seven people out of work in the process as confirmed by the Canadian studio earlier today on Twitter. The statement, linked below, indicates that jobs have been lost from development teams, support services, and administration.
— Eidos-Montréal (@EidosMontreal) January 29, 2024
This is not the first, or unlikely the last, time Embracer has been in the news for its lay-offs. Last September the company, which acquired a massive number of studios and IP across the late 2010s and early 2020s, shuttered Saint’s Row developer Volition after the game’s lukewarm sales and critical reception. Elsewhere its handling of the highly anticipated Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake has been dogged by rumours and studio changes for the past twelve months.
The Eidos Montreal job losses follow the current wider industry trend toward lay-offs, which at the time of writing stands at over six thousand cuts in the first month of 2024 alone.
What’s your take on the collapsing state of things? Be sure to let us know in the comments below and on social media.
One part pretentious academic and one part goofy dickhead, James is often found defending strange games and frowning at the popular ones, but he's happy to play just about everything in between. An unbridled love for FromSoftware's pantheon, a keen eye for vibes first experiences, and an insistence on the Oxford comma have marked his time in the industry.
