Embracer Group's bloodbath continues as Tomb Raider dev Crystal Dynamics reports layoffs

[Doncortez77]

Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics has suffered a wave of layoffs just months after insisting that the ongoing staff hemorrhage at parent company Embracer Group wouldn't affect the new Tomb Raider game or the studio's collaboration with The Initiative on the Perfect Dark reboot.

Several Crystal Dynamics employees confirmed the layoffs on social media today, and while marketing and branding folks seem to have drawn the shortest straw, the exact scope of the redundancies remains uncertain. Senior brand manager Nick Edwards writes: "Sadly the Embracer layoffs keep coming and I and a number of talented brand/marketing folks at Crystal are impacted."

Senior community and social manager Neha Nair adds: "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 [Crystal Dynamics], I was laid off today."

https://www.gamesradar.com/months-a...ffs-tomb-raider-dev-hit-with-wave-of-layoffs/

 

[ksdixon]

This is an absolutely tragic state of affairs. Why in the blue fuck didn't Sony just buy Western SE and those IPs for how cheap it went?

 

[Dabaus]

Probably the people working on Fable.

 

[Alabtrosmyster]

I want Crystal Dynamics to make a sequel to Crash N' Burn on PSVR 2!

 

[Danja1187]

Dang! SE really screwed over these studios.

 

[KiryuRealty]

It’s just PR positions being cut, so no humans have been harmed by these layoffs.

 

[Satoru]

This is an absolutely tragic state of affairs. Why in the blue fuck didn't Sony just buy Western SE and those IPs for how cheap it went?

His name is Jim Ryan. You can say it.

 

[ksdixon]

His name is Jim Ryan. You can say it.

I don't want to, honestly. It's depressing to see lost opportunities etc under his stewardship.

I feel like Kevin Butler would be a better CEO ffs, and he's fictional.

 

[KiryuRealty]

This is an absolutely tragic state of affairs. Why in the blue fuck didn't Sony just buy Western SE and those IPs for how cheap it went?

With CD games usually having to be ported to PlayStation by outside teams, what value would that have provided to Sony?

 

[anonpuffs]

Lmao isn't crystal dynamics working on the perfect dark reboot??

RIP

 

[KiryuRealty]

I don't want to, honestly. It's depressing to see lost opportunities etc under his stewardship.

I feel like Kevin Butler would be a better CEO ffs, and he's fictional.

“Western SE” was pretty much just Crystal Dynamics, a studio that was deeply embedded in Phil Spencer’s rectum since the 360. Why the fuck would Sony buy them, considering most of their multiplats were ported to Sony systems by outside teams?

 

[ksdixon]

With what the head of CD pulled with the Rise of the Tomb Raider deal? You think they’d want that asshole on board?

Man that's one guy. In terms of acquiring more needed devs, being sold for cheap, near to Haven studio IIRC, the importance of TR/LOK and other IP for PS history, you can get the companies/IPs in-house to your own benefit in wider strategies/synergies, and fire that one tosspot.

... Plus, in that scenario, couldn't Sony inadvertently accidentally keep CD busy on TR and no longer able to help make PD?

 

[Gods&Monsters]

Embracer bought CD for the Tomb Raider IP. Amazon is paying for the development of the next TR and then they will close the studio and keep the IP. I'm 100% sure of it.

Man that's one guy. In terms of acquiring more needed devs, being sold for cheap, near to Haven studio IIRC, the importance of TR/LOK and other IP for PS history, you can get the companies/IPs in-house to your own benefit in wider strategies/synergies, and fire that one tosspot.

That's Eidos Montreal, the Deus Ex studio (and GoTG) near Haven. Crystal is in USA.

 

[ksdixon]

Embracer bought CD for the Tomb Raider IP. Amazon is paying for the development of the next TR and then they will close the studio and keep the IP. I'm 100% sure of it.


That's Eidos Montreal, the Deus Ex studio (and GoTG) near Haven. Crystal is in USA.

Oh my bad. The point still stands for Eidos Montreal developers and Deus Ex as well though.

 

[Danja1187]

“Western SE” was pretty much just Crystal Dynamics, a studio that was deeply embedded in Phil Spencer’s rectum since the 360. Why the fuck would Sony buy them, considering most of their multiplats were ported to Sony systems by outside teams?

Ported By Nixxies

 

[Cool hand luke]

His name is Jim Ryan. You can say it.

I don't know man, the Jim Ryan hate boner people have seems way out of whack.

Headline: 'PS5 sales up 200% year on year in August!"
Iconera users: Fire that clown

 

[Box]

I don't know man, the Jim Ryan hate boner people have seems way out of whack.

Headline: 'PS5 sales up 200% year on year in August!"
Iconera users: Fire that clown

He made one comment about old games that was taken out of context, and now the entire internet hates him.

 

[Zzero]

I guess that makes sense. MS will be marketing PD and presumably Amazon wil be burden-sharing on Tomb Raider. If cuts were mandated for each division (and its certainly looking that way now...) then marketing and HR is where I'd cut too. Maybe Saber makes it through unscathed because their founder (who uniquely among recent purchases retains voting shares in Embracer) upped his holdings recently, perhaps with that being his version of a Saber belt tightening.

 

[Vertigo]

Unfortunate that Deus Ex is gonna die with this scam operation… oh well.

 

[Johnic]

This is an absolutely tragic state of affairs. Why in the blue fuck didn't Sony just buy Western SE and those IPs for how cheap it went?

Apparently, they sold for cheap because SE sold off a lot of debt with those IPs. So Sony would have either had to pay much more than the 200 million or take on the debt as well.