A number of employees at Embracer-owned developer Slipgate Ironworks and publisher 3D Realms have taken to social media to say they have been affected by layoffs. However, it is currently unclear how many people are affected and no official confirmation or notification has yet been received.
Slipgate Ironworks and 3D Realms are both subsidiaries of Saber Interactive, which was acquired by Embracer in August 2020. The two developed and published the recently released action game Kingpin: Reload – a remastered version of the 1999 game from Xatrix Interactive, Kingpin: life of crime – and helped develop and produce it Ghost Walker.
As a Eurogamer reportsSeveral employees have now indicated that they are looking for new work and opportunities, including lead composer Michael Markie, who tweeted yesterday (December 14): “I was fired before Christmas this year! If anyone is looking for a level designer or audio, please feel free to contact me!”
A few hours later, graphics programmer Ziyad Barakat Posted: “Last night I was laid off from 3D Realms / Slipgate Ironworks and now I have to take the journey to look for new opportunities.”
Similar messages were posted today (December 15) by 3D artist Patrick Hewitt and character artist Lars Bundvad-Åmodt, the latter of whom noted that “I, like many others, have been affected by the layoffs (at) Slipgate Ironworks / 3D Realms.”
At the time of writing, the situation has not yet been officially publicly acknowledged by Slipgate Ironworks, 3D Realms, Saber Interactive, or Embracer Group. It is worth noting, however, that Embracer has carried out a major restructuring program this year, which – as of the end of September – had resulted in more than 900 people (or about five percent of the workforce) is laid off. This number has increased since then; This was confirmed this week Time splitters studio Free Radical Design is closed.
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