REACTION - Yet more Embracer layoffs point to an increasingly uncertain path forward
Negative hug.
By Jonathan Garrett
15/01/24
After what felt like a bombardment of high profile layoffs and cutbacks across various publishers and developers, one would have hoped that 2024 would have slowed that train of disappointment. Unfortunately, true to form, Embracer have come back with yet another round of major job cuts, this time at Gearbox support studio Lost Boys Interactive.
We sincerely hope that everyone affected is snapped up with new positions very soon, but this latest failure of management shines an exposing spotlight on Embracer’s business practices. They’ve spent the last few years picking at the bones of defunct studios and IP, and also buying up well established brands, to solidify their position as a major player.
Instead, their inability to make good on their promises, and secure crucial funding, is leaving these hard working developers out in the cold. Consolidation within an industry this broad was inevitable, but if this is where things are headed, there will be a worrying lack of certainty for thousands of talented artists and designers…
TARPS?
At the bottom of some of our articles, you’ll see a series of absurd looking images (with equally stupid, in joke laden names). These are the TARP badges, which represent our ‘Totally Accurate Rating Platform’. They allow us to identify specific things, recognise positive or negative aspects of a games design, and generally indulge our consistent silliness with some visual tomfoolery.
