Embracer Group COO announces departure from company, admits “the last year has been rough”
Egil Strunke has confirmed that he has left Embracer Group as Chief Operating Officer and announced that he is ready to “embark on a new mission” after “reaching a checkpoint”.
In a after Published today (November 6) on LinkedIn, Strunke revealed that he left the company last week with what he described as “mixed feelings.”
“On the one hand, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the unique Lars Wingefors and all the other AMAZING colleagues (too many to mention!) that I will be sad to leave,” he wrote. “On the other hand, I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead – starting and building my own company: Strunke Games.”
He explained that Strunke Games’ goal is to “support and engage with some of the most interesting game studios, companies and projects around the world as the games industry continues to change.”
As explained in the LinkedIn post, Strunke spent eight years at the company, spread over two four-year periods: the first between 2011 and 2014, and the second between 2019 and now. He described the 2019 period as “a sizzling hotbed for acquisitions with new entrepreneurs and exciting studios being added quarter after quarter.”
He wrote: “Growing the number of employees 14x to 16,500 and growing revenue (eight times) to approximately 40 billion SEK ($3.68 billion / £2.97 billion) in four years has been an amazing experience and adventure. While the past year has been tough, in line with general market changes and industry consolidation, I am confident that Embracer will emerge stronger and with a long, bright future ahead of it.”
This year there have been several Embracer Group game studios hit by layoffs, including Crystal Dynamicsthe company behind it Gex And Tomb Raider titles such as The Rise of the Tomb Raider. Additionally, Saints row developer Volition was closed in August – the studio explaining that the decision was made as part of a “restructuring program to strengthen Embracer”.
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