Is there the beginning of a crisis in SEGA ? Even if the publisher no longer has the appearance it had in the 90s, it spans the ages with productions of diverse and varied quality and popularity, always with a Sonic from time to time to keep the rhythm. While Sonic Superstars will be released quietly next month (and is available for pre-order at €44.99 on Amazon.com), another major production planned for 2023 will meet a more disastrous fate.
During its last financial statement, SEGA indeed announced laconically thathe was going to stop the development of HYENASTHE looter shooter multiplayer Creative Assembly yet went through an open beta a few days ago. Other undisclosed projects have also been canceled in Europe, due to the drop in profitability of production made from the continent. And logically, we must already fear for the employees of local studios and particularly Creative Assemblywhile spending reductions in Europe are announced…
In response to declining profitability in the European region, we have reviewed the title portfolio of each development base in Europe and the resulting action will be to cancel “HYENAS” and certain unannounced titles currently in development. Accordingly, we will implement a work-in-progress write-down for titles under development.
We will implement a reduction in various fixed expenses across several group companies in the affected region, centered on Creative Assembly Ltd. We expect to incur one-time expenses related to the reduction of fixed expenses.
We will continue to consider measures to improve the profitability of European bases beyond the above. We will announce specific details and the impact thereof as soon as we have made a decision.
If decisions to cancel projects are not rare, we can be surprised that this is the case for HYENAS, the game was in the final stretch before its release: we should perhaps believe that its qualities or the public’s expectations did not live up to its ambitions. Let’s hope that SEGA Sammy and its employees are not suffering too much from this loss of speed in the coming months, who are forecasting losses of around 14.3 billion yen for the financial year ending March 31, 2024.
Update : Creative Assembly commented on the announcement on his social networks.
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