It’s a growing trend now, these are not the first Studios acquired by Embracer who has gone through something like this…
As Embracer’s restructuring efforts continue, a number of employees have been laid off at 3D Realms and Slipgate Ironworks, the developers behind Ghostrunner, Shadow Warrior, Duke Nukem, and other games.
The layoffs were first reported by 3D Realms founder Scott Miller, who stated on X reports that “a lot of people, including core devs,” had been laid off. Miller, who left 3D Realms around the time of their acquisition by Embracer in 2021, later added that the cuts had reportedly affected “at least half the company.”
While Embracer and the studios have yet to confirm the layoffs, Miller’s reports were corroborated by posts from a number of former 3D Realms and Slipgate employees announcing their dismissal. Lead character artist Lars Bundvad-modt, sound designer Michael Markie, social media manager Alex Danino, texture artist Miguel Dominguez, and game programmer Ziyad Barakat were among those affected.
3D Realms began as Apogee Software and is best known for developing Duke Nukem in the early 1990s, as well as publishing id Software games such as Wolfenstein 3D and Commander Keen. In the aftermath of Duke Nukem Forever’s dreadfully long road to release, the company halted development efforts, laid off the majority of staff, and handed Duke over to Gearbox, becoming primarily a licensing outlet.
After five years, they were acquired by a Danish investment firm, which incorporated them into the same corporate family tree as publisher Slipgate Ironworks (then known as Interceptor Entertainment). 3D Realms returned to game development, collaborating with Slipgate on titles such as the cyberpunk platformer Ghostrunner. In August 2021, Embracer acquired both 3D Realms and Slipgate, reuniting 3DR with the Duke franchise under the megacorp’s massive umbrella.
The two companies join a staggeringly lengthy list of studios that have been laid off this year as a result of Embracer’s restructuring program, which began over the summer and has seen over 900 people lose their jobs (though that total is almost definitely considerably higher by now), veteran firms Volition and Free Radical close, the latter only days before this latest announcement, and many games canceled.
Embracer’s massive layoffs follow a year that has seen thousands of layoffs across firms large and small, as well as a number of studio closures, with companies such as Embracer, Unity, and Dungeons & Dragons maker Hasbro stating that they expect additional layoffs to continue into 2024.