More than 100 people at Company of Heroes developer Relic Entertainment are losing their jobs amid a restructuring ordered by studio owner Sega. The company has confirmed 121 layoffs at the Canadian studio following the launch of Company of Heroes 3 in February.
“At a time where external factors are impacting our industry more than ever, the difficult decision to restructure has been made to ensure that maximum focus can be placed on Relic’s core franchises,” Sega said in a statement to GI.biz.
Despite the layoffs, Sega said it remains “fully committed to supporting and investing” in Relic Entertainment and its franchises, including Company of Heroes. “We’re confident that following this necessary restructure, the studio will be in a position of strength to continue delivering outstanding experiences to players all over the world,” Sega said.
The statement went on to say that this decision was “incredibly difficult.” Affected employees will receive severance packages and career-transition services.
GameSpot has contacted Sega in an attempt to get more information.
Sega acquired Relic and the Company of Heroes franchise out of THQ’s bankruptcy auction in 2013 for $26.6 million, beating ZeniMax’s bid by $300,000.
In addition to Company of Heroes, Relic worked with Microsoft on Age of Empires IV and also developed multiple Warhammer 40,000 games. The company’s next release is a console edition of Company of Heroes 3, which is out on May 30. Beyond that, the studio has no announced projects.
Relic is just the latest major game developer to see layoffs so far in 2023. Other companies that have cut staff this year have included The Molasses Flood, Unity, Ready at Dawn, Take-Two, Xbox, Ubisoft, and more.
Sega recently acquired the Angry Birds series for $776 million.
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