Relic Entertainment Hit By More Layoffs After Split From Sega

Esteemed developer Relic Entertainment - the creators of acclaimed RTS franchises like Homeworld and Company of Heroes - has confirmed a further round of layoffs at the Canadian-based studio. This news came only a few days after Relic's departure from Sega as a former subsidiary of the company.

A week prior to this, Relic announced that it was gaining independence from Sega as part of widespread layoffs and restructuring across Sega's European divisions. With an external investor buying it off from its parent company, Relic stated that it was to be "independently-run" going forward, but that it would continue providing updates for existing titles like Company of Heroes 3 in the near future. All of this happened merely months after Sega laid off 121 staff members from Relic Entertainment.

Now, Relic is suffering even more departures, with 41 more people leaving the studio, according to a statement made on LinkedIn by Relic external development producer Robyn Smale. "I am absolutely gutted that we are here again with more layoffs at Relic Entertainment. We have lost a number of amazing people - 41... These situations really suck and my heart breaks to see so many of us get separated."

Shortly after, this post was followed up by an official confirmation of the layoffs by Relic Entertainment on LinkedIn, claiming that this tough decision was made to provide the studio with "the best possible chance to survive in an increasingly volatile industry." Relic's statement is very similar to those made by other developers and publishers undergoing mass layoffs, something that has been shaking the gaming industry to its core in recent months.

At the very least, though, the 41 developers being laid off are, according to Relic, going to receive "severance packages, extended benefits, and outplacement support options," so that will hopefully provide at least some level of comfort to the employees losing their jobs.

This unfortunate news is only the latest in a widespread succession of mass layoffs across the gaming industry, with news of job losses, restructurings, or even studio closures happening nearly every single week over the past few months. So far, despite many great games releasing this year, 2024 has been devastating for game developers across the globe. The amount of people that lost their jobs in just January through March alone is, when combined, greater than more than half of the number of layoffs in the entirety of 2023.

Many of the biggest publishers in the gaming industry have announced layoffs so far in 2024, including companies like Microsoft, Sony, Riot Games, Eidos-Montreal, Embracer Group, Gearbox, Sega of America, 505 Games, and more. Some studios, like EA's recently-opened Ridgeline Games and Sony-backed developer Deviation Games, shut their doors before even releasing or revealing their first games. As for Relic themselves, it has yet to reveal what future games it is working on as well, though progress on its next title - whether it be a new Age of Empires, Company of Heroes, or Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War game - could be hampered by these layoffs. In the meantime, though, fans can at least look forward to future content updates for Company of Heroes 3.