Sega to Sell Relic Entertainment, Will Cut 240 Employees Across UK, Europe
variety.comJennifer Maas TV Business Writer Sega is selling off “Company of Heroes” developer Relic Entertainment and laying off 240 employees across Sega’s Europe and UK-based teams, including Creative Assembly and Sega Hardlight.
The cuts make Sega the latest video game company to downsize its staff in 2024. In a document filed with the Tokyo Stock Exchange Thursday, Sega wrote: “The business environment surrounding the Consumer area, especially in European region, has been rapidly changing, including reactionary decline from the stay-at-home demand in COVID-19 and the economic downturn due to inflation, etc., and profitability has been lowered.
To promptly adapt to these changes in the environment and improve profitability, we have decided to implement Structural Reform at our European bases and have been considering a review of the medium-term lineup, optimization of fixed expenses and improvement of investment efficiency, and review of development/sales structure and management system, and have now decided to implement the following three measures.” As a result of the sale, Relic will become an independent studio supported by an outside investor, and will proceed with work on its current titles, including “Company of Heroes 3.” Relic released a statement on X (formerly Twitter) stating: “To our fans, we want to assure you we will continue to support our titles, including ‘Company of Heroes 3’ – we are looking forward to the 1.6 Update in April, loaded with new content and features requested by our community.” News of the Sega layoffs and Relic sale comes on the same day that Bloomberg reported more than 100 workers at Sega America ratified the first union contract at a major gaming company, with conditions for annual pay.
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