The developer is undergoing a restructuring
Sega Europe and Relic Entertainment have announced the layoff of 121 employees from Relic.
The press release cites “external factors” and goes on to say that this is part of a restructuring of a wider restructuring of the studio.
An announcement from Relic Entertainment. pic.twitter.com/EITW2tbG7w
— Relic Entertainment (@relicgames) May 23, 2023
Relic Entertainment is based in Canada and has been behind such hits as Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War and Homeworld. Their area of expertise is strategy games, with their most recent title being Company of Heroes 3. While Company of Heroes 3 did well critically, user reception is much worse, with the addition of microtransactions often cited for the negative response. Nonetheless, if missing targets was the reason for the job cuts, Sega hasn’t disclosed anything.
“Relic and SEGA remain fully committed to supporting and investing in our titles, including the recently released Company of Heroes 3. 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,” the press release says.
It goes onto say that “Right now our focus is on supporting departing employees in every way we can.” Again, nothing more specific is mentioned.
Layoffs always suck, especially ones of this magnitude. It’s something we, unfortunately, see a lot of in this industry. Hopefully, those affected can quickly find a new home and continue doing what they love. I also hope Relic’s “restructuring” goes well, and we can continue to see more from the studio.