Crystal Dynamics, the game development studio best known for its work on the Tomb Raider, Gex, and Legacy of Kain series, confirmed yesterday (Wednesday, September 20) that it has parted ways with 10 employees “due to an internal restructuring”.
The studio, which was acquired by Embracer Group last year, said that it’s working with the affected staff to offer support, and encouraged other studios to get in touch with alternative job opportunities.
“Crystal Dynamics made the difficult decision to part ways with nine brand/marketing [personnel] and one IT employee today due to an internal restructuring to align the studio with our current business needs,” a statement posted to Twitter reads. “We are working directly with the affected staff to fully support them.”
pic.twitter.com/FMYu1MeVgnSeptember 20, 2023
One of the employees affected by the layoffs is senior brand manager Nick Edwards, who tweeted: “Sadly the Embracer layoffs keep coming and I and a number of talented brand/marketing folks at Crystal are impacted. If anyone needs a biz/pub, product, or marketing leader hit me up.”
Also impacted is senior community and social media manager Neha Nair, who wrote on Twitter: “There isn’t an easy way to say this so I’ll just rip the Band-Aid off because while I’m still processing, life unfortunately does not pause… After [three and a half] years at Crystal Dynamics, I was laid off today. I’d appreciate any [senior] level community and social media positions in gaming.”
As Eurogamer writes, Crystal Dynamics isn’t the only studio owned by Embracer Group to be affected by layoffs and cutbacks. Last month, it was confirmed that Saints Row studio Volition Games had been shut down.
In a statement posted at the time, Volition wrote: “This past June, Embracer Group announced a restructuring program to strengthen Embracer and maintain its position as a leader in the video game industry. As part of that program, they evaluated strategic and operational goals and made the difficult decision to close Volition effective immediately.”
If you’re looking for some new games to play, you can find some recommendations on our lists of the best single-player games and best PC games.