As feared, layoffs within Embracer Group have continued, with its latest victim being New World Interactive, the developer behind the Insurgency tactical shooter series.
At the time of writing, Embracer hasn’t made an official statement on the matter, but there was chatter of it simply shutting the studio down courtesy of Nick Calandra, co-founder of Second Wind and former editor-in-chief at The Escapist.
On Dec. 4, Calandra claimed to have heard from his sources that New World Interactive is next on the chopping block. A couple of hours later, though, a now former employee of the studio explained on LinkedIn that wasn’t the case… but whatever New World Interactive was working on has been canceled and most of the development team let go. So, don’t be surprised if the studio winds up being shuttered anyway.
“I’m going to miss every single person at NWI,” reads the LinkedIn post, which was shared by Calandra. However, he’s kept the employee’s identity anonymous so as not to bring too much attention to them. “Everyone was an absolute joy to work for and I had an absolute blast every day. Please extend some help and good wishes to them, it’s a rough day right now for the team.”
Confirmed via public post on Linkedin. Not sharing identity to keep unwanted attention off of them during this. pic.twitter.com/Zo9J9KRWB0
— Nick Calandra (@nickjcal) December 4, 2023
While many companies have been impacted by layoffs this year, Embracer Group arguably stands head and shoulders above the rest. After splurging on so many studios and promising to release more than 200 games over the next few years, Embracer has since undergone severe restructuring. Off the top of my head, at least eight other studios besides New World Interactive have seen layoffs and cancelled projects. Saints Row studio Volition was sadly shut down in August and there’s even been talk of Borderlands studio Gearbox being sold off less than three years after buying it for $1 billion.
