The year 2024 has barely started and already, very bad news is emerging in the world of video games. It’s very sad, that’s what we know.
The year 2024 is off to a difficult start for the world of video games, and the bad news keeps coming (see our news on the subject). After numerous layoffs at Riot Games, it is the turn of another giant to suffer from the current situation, with significant departures. It’s definitely a difficult time for the video game industry, and it’s very unfortunate. We hope that this bleeding will stop as soon as possible. For the well-being of employees and the good health of future games. This time, it is the studio responsible for Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin which is affected.
Sad news for the studio of the next Ninja Turtles game
Black Forest Games, the studio owned by the Embracer group and known for the remakes of the Destroy All Humans games! as well as for the development of the title Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin (Ninja Turtles), is facing a wave of layoffs.
In fact, according to a report from Kotaku, around 50% of developers at Black Forest Games were affected. Which represents nearly 50 people out of a total of 110 employees. This situation is even more concerning because, unlike other companies with recent layoffs, such as Riot and Discord, affected employees do not appear to have been immediately supported with meetings to prepare for next steps.
Under these conditions, it is difficult to imagine how the planned game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin could be released. With half the creative team missing, the completion of the project seems compromised. And given the current situation, this project no longer really appears to be a priority.
A dire situation
Recent layoffs at Black Forest Games highlight Embracer Group’s controversial approach to the games industry. For a long time, Embracer adopted an aggressive acquisition strategy. Buying game studios in hopes of increasing its size and producing a high volume of games to recoup its investments. Lars Wingefors, CEO of Embracer Group, even highlighted this strategy as a way to minimize business risk.
Ironically, it is this same strategy that appears to have contributed to the current layoffs. Following the failure of a deal with the Saudi government subsidiary, Savvy Games Group. What adds to the complexity of the situation is that, despite these events, Lars Wingefors remains in office, while many employees suffer the repercussions of the decisions taken by the management of the Embracer group.
According to Kotaku, in the first 25 days of 2024, the video game industry has already witnessed 3,900 layoffs. Spanning from Unity to Twitch, and also including Embracer. This situation represents a real tragedy for the sector. We hope that those affected will quickly find employment and manage to overcome this difficult ordeal.