Ten employees from the studio have been let go.
- Crystal Dynamics, best known for developing Tomb Raider, announces layoffs affecting 10 employees earlier today.
- The layoffs include nine members from the Brand/Marketing division and one from IT, contrary to previous statements by the studio that it is unaffected by the job cuts.
- Embracer Group, which acquired Crystal Dynamics in 2022, is undergoing company-wide restructuring following a failed $2 billion deal earlier this year.
It appears that The Embracer Group’s restructuring plans will include every division. Crystal Dynamics, the beleaguered Swedish video game publisher, revealed earlier today that it is letting go of staff members as part of the ongoing wave of layoffs.
A tweet on X (formerly Twitter) claims that Crystal Dynamics, the company behind Tomb Raider, is letting go of ten workers. One person is from IT, and the other nine are from the Brand/Marketing department. Months after the studio declared it would not be included in the employment cuts, there are now layoffs.
“To align the studio with our current business needs, Crystal Dynamics undertook an internal restructuring that involved parting ways with nine Brand/Marketing and one IT employee today,” the company said. “To provide the impacted workers with complete support, we are collaborating directly with them. Please forward any relevant job openings you may have in Brand Direction, Creative Services, Community, or IT to [email protected]; we’ll make sure the appropriate people receive the information.”
Crystal Dynamics made the difficult decision to part ways with 9 Brand/Marketing and 1 IT employee today due to an internal restructuring to align the studio with our current business needs. We are working directly with the affected staff to fully support them.
Crystal Dynamics (@CrystalDynamics) September 20, 2023
A number of studio staff members verified the layoffs on social media. Although the extent of the layoffs is yet unknown, it is obvious that the marketing and branding team suffered the most.
“Sadly, the Embracer layoffs keep coming and I and a number of talented brand/marketing folks at Crystal are impacted,” writes senior brand manager Nick Edwards.
Sadly the Embracer layoffs keep coming and I and a number of talented brand/marketing folks at Crystal are impacted.
If anyone needs a biz/pub, product, or marketing leader hit me up. Also, I’ve got PR, Project Management, 2D Art, Video Editor rockstars that I’d love to intro
Nick Edwards (@nkedwards) September 20, 2023
Neha Nair, senior manager of community and social media, revealed on X that she is among those laid off. While I’m still digesting, life regrettably does not pause, so I’ll just pull the bandage off since there’s no other way to put it. I got laid off today from [Crystal Dynamics], where I worked for 3.5 years.”
There isn’t an easy way to say this so I’ll just rip the bandaid off because while I’m still processing, life unfortunately does not pause…
After 3.5 years at @CrystalDynamics, I was laid off today. I’d appreciate any Sr. level Community & Social Media positions in gaming. pic.twitter.com/yb7T9URJ0E
Neha [Rinny ] (@Rinoaaa) September 20, 2023
For $300 million, the Embracer Group purchased Crystal Dynamics from Square Enix in 2022. Several IPs, including Tomb Raider, were included in the agreement. The studio was only one of Embracer’s many well-known acquisitions from the previous year.
But earlier in the year, a $2 billion agreement with an unnamed partner fell through, and things went south. It was eventually discovered that Embracer’s partner in the botched sale was Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group. Embracer thereupon said that it would be reorganizing the business.Campfire Cabal and Saints Row developer Volition were shut down. The business also thought about selling Gearbox Studios.
How many more Embracer Group employees might be impacted by the layoffs is unknown at this time. “Embracer currently engages close to 17,000 people and while that number will be lower by the end of the year, it is too early to give an exact forecast on this,” stated recently by Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors.