This is Lars Wingefors, the CEO of Embracer, a Swedish holding company that owns multiple video game publishers, dozens of studios, and employs over 16,500 people. Or at least it used to.
Embracer has been laying off hundreds, canceling projects, and closing studios as it reckons with deals that fell through, ambitious bets on big games, and an unprecedented acquisition spree that saw the investor group hoover up everything it could, from the studio behind Deus Ex to the license for The Lord of the Rings. One company to rule them all. That seemed to be the extent of the strategy. Now the check has come due and things are continuing to unravel. Wingefors confirmed in Embracer’s latest earnings report that the company has laid off 900 people, or about 5 percent of its workforce, since the beginning of the year. Fifteen projects, most of them unannounced, were also seemingly canceled. And more closures and layoffs are still coming. “For me, personally, it is crucial that the is carried out with compassion, respect, and integrity,” Wingefors wrote in a press releas