Eidos Montreal hit with more layoffs, project cancellations

Embracer Group has laid off more employees at its subsidiary Eidos Montreal.

As first reported Insider GamesAt least a dozen employees of the Canadian developer were recently laid off. A number of victims subsequently confirmed their departure on LinkedIn. It's noteworthy that this happens after Embracer laid off approximately 75 employees earlier this yearAnd almost 100 last year along with the cancellation Deus Ex game.

But that's not all. Insider Games reports that most projects at Eidos Montreal have been canceled and priority has shifted to supporting Xbox's Obsidian and Playground Games in development Grounded 2 (which launched earlier this year in early access) and next year Fable reboot. The only game mentioned is an internal project, the development of which began in 2019 and, as a result, will not recoup the costs. The worst thing is that Insider Games reports that further layoffs are expected after work on Xbox games is completed.

This is the latest in a seemingly endless string of unfortunate events for Eidos Montreal. The Canadian developer was originally founded in 2007 by the now-defunct Eidos Interactive, which was once a subsidiary of Square Enix. Over the years, the studio has made a name for itself with acclaimed narrative projects like the 2011 film. Deus Ex: Human Revolution2016s Deus Ex: Humanity Divided And 2021s Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. This also helped tomb Raider Crystal Dynamics studio about the many adventures of Lara Croft and the 2020s Marvel's Avengers, as well as leading developments of 2018 Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

It is obvious that the developer is capable of consistently creating quality games, but rarely receives the publisher support it deserves. As Eidos Montreal founder Stephane D'Astous previously said, Square Enix, the Japanese company best known for games like final fantasy And Dragon Quest, didn’t know how to properly manage Western teams like Eidos. Ultimately this led to sell most of its Western equipment, including Eidos Montrealto Embracer in 2022.

Since then, Embracer has continued to tear Eidos Montreal down to its bones with waves of layoffs and project cancellations. Last year's reduction Deus Ex the game was a special blow for fans who had been waiting since 2016 Humanity is divided (causing many storylines to go unnoticed) for a sequel. Prominent Canadian voice actor Elias Toufexis, voice actor Deus Ex stars Adam Jensen, even wrote a heartfelt tribute to Eidos Montreal and its fans last year in the news after years of promoting another game.

What makes this news especially upsetting is the fact that Embracer is a large company that… acquired many studios in just a few yearssnatching up everything from Eidos Montreal and Crystal Dynamics to even the rights to Lord of the Rings. And yet, he continues to mishandle his briefcasefrom the closure of such veteran studios as Saints Row Volition developer and Time separators creator of Free Radical Design layoffs of thousands of other employees in teams such as Eidos Montreal and Crystal Dynamics.

The hugger has previously blamed some of those cuts for the collapse of the $2 billion deal.but this only further highlights the corporate incompetence of former CEO Lars Wingefors and company. exhibited here. Maybe it's not worth making a huge expenditure if you don't actually have the capital to back it?

All this means is that our hearts go out to the fine folks at Eidos (not to mention the other Embracer teams) who deserve so much more than all this nonsense.

Image credit: Eidos Montreal

Source: Insider Games