The Daily Populous Saturday June 21st, 2025 morning edition
Authored by gamedeveloper.com and submitted by samiy2k

Swedish conglomerate Embracer Group reduced its headcount by 1,857 employees over the past year during an ongoing restructure that included layoffs and divestments.

It's a figure that underlines the scale of upheaval at the company, which has been attempting to rightsize by enacting a brutal restructuring program after a period focused on costly mergers and acquisitions (M&A). That restructuring program had cost around 1,400 workers their jobs by the end of 2023.

Not all of the latest departures would have been the direct result of layoffs, with Embracer divesting major assets such as Easybrain, Saber Interactive, and Gearbox over the past year.

The company is also in the process of splitting into three standalone publicly-traded entities to "unleash the full potential of each team." Embracer Group AB will continue to oversee those companies under the leadership of incoming CEO and Phil Rogers, who was a veteran exec at Eidos and Square Enix.

Rogers will replace long-serving Embracer CEO and co-founder Lars Wingefors in August 2025. Wingefors is proposed to be appointed executive chair of the board of Embracer, where he'll focus on "strategic initiatives, M&A, and capital allocation."

Embracer Group has parted ways with thousands of workers in recent years—many of which have been laid off

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Embracer detailed its internal headcount across three segments—PC/Console Games, Mobile Games, and Entertainment and Services—in its 2025 annual report. By comparing the numbers to those shared in last year's report, we can see the human impact of Embracer's downsizing.

Within the PC/Console Games segment—which includes operative groups like Plaion, THQ Nordic, Coffee Stain, Crystal Dynamics-Eidos, and Amplifier Game Invest—internal headcount fell to 4,918 in 2025 from 6,404 in 2024. That means 1486 people departed over the past year. The number of internal studios also decreased to 62 from 73.

We know at least some of those employees were punted out the door following a layoff round, with Embracer cutting roles across both Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal earlier this year.

The number of people plying their trade in the Mobile Games segment also fell significantly compared the last year. Embracer currently employees 743 people within the segment—a notable decline on the 1,081 employees it reported last year.

There was a smaller headcount drop in the Entertainment and Services division, where Embracer currently employs 738 workers—33 fewer people than the 771 employees it counted in 2024.

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In the report, Embracer said the successful completion of its restructuring program has turned it into a "leaner and more focused" company. It also claimed the wider game industry is beginning to stabilize after years of turmoil.

redditPl4c3b0 on June 20th, 2025 at 12:53 UTC »

One could say they had to embrace reality.