Sega Europe has laid off 121 employees at Relic Entertainment, while blaming the “incredibly difficult” decision on “external factors” affecting the games industry.
“Relic Entertainment and SEGA Europe want to share the difficult news that our studio has been impacted by layoffs, affecting 121 employees,” read a Twitter statement from the Vancouver-based studio.
“This comes at a time when external factors are challenging our industry more than ever, and we made this decision to restructure our organisation to ensure maximum focus is placed on our core franchises.”
An announcement from Relic Entertainment. pic.twitter.com/EITW2tbG7w
— Relic Entertainment (@relicgames) May 23, 2023
The newly announced layoffs affect a significant proportion of the studio’s workforce, spanning from concept artists to audio and VFX designers. Over the years, the workers at Relic have developed a number of well regarded strategy games in the Company of Heroes, Homeworld, and Age of Empires franchises.
“Relic and SEGA remain fully committed to supporting and investing in our titles, including the recently released Company of Heroes 3,” continued the studio statement. “We’re confident that following this necessary restructuring, Relic will be in a position of strength to continue delivering outstanding experiences to players all over the world.”
Sad to announce that I was laid off this morning in a mass reduction at Relic, a week before my one year anniversary. Wishing the best to my colleagues that we all end up okay.
I am heartbroken, and devastated.
— Mandy Jacek (@MandyJacek) May 23, 2023
In the wake of the announcement, many members of the gaming community reached out with messages of support for those who had found their professional lives upturned by the layoffs, while some industry professionals extended leads where former Relic employees might find new employment.
As reported by VGC, Sega recently announced in an earnings call that it was considering raising the price of its games to $70 – a move which would bring them in line with those developed from other publishers including Ubisoft and Nintendo.
Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer
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