Seismic Decisions at Sega. Relic Goes Independent, Layoffs at Creative Assembly
Relic Entertainment studio has parted ways with Sega. The developers of the Company of Heroes and Dawn of War series have set their sights on independence. The publisher also carried out layoffs at Creative Assembly studio.
The gamedev layoffs epidemic is in full swing and there are no indications that the situation will improve in the next few months. The teams under the Sega company have clearly experienced the prevailing moods in the industry.
According to GamesIndustry.biz, the Japanese developer and publisher has terminated contracts with 240 people, most of whom are members of the Creative Assembly team (known from the Total War series) - which had already been strongly affected by the company's new policy - and Sega Europe. "A small number of layoffs" also occurred at the Sega HARDLight studio located in England.
I want to sincerely apologise for the worry and understandable distress this news will cause, particularly for those directly affected. These decisions have been incredibly tough to make, and they follow meticulous consideration and deliberation with leadership teams across the business. Change is necessary to secure the future of our games business, and to ensure that we are well placed to deliver the best possible experiences to our players going forward - says a part of the statement by Jurgen Post, the newly appointed CEO of Sega Europe.
Meanwhile, in the United States, a group of 150 full-time and contract workers employed by different divisions of Sega of America and associated with the AEGIS union (Allied Employees Guild Improving Sega) have reached an understanding and established a new agreement. The goal is to protect jobs and guarantee salary increases and access to various benefits. You can read more about this topic on GamesIndustry.biz.
Big changes at Relic Entertainment
The Relic Entertainment studio was also impacted by the restructuring at Sega. In the case of the developers of the Company of Heroes and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War series, however, we are talking about the total sale of the studio (via X). As a result of this transaction, in which an external investor was also involved, the company will return to developing future projects as an independent entity and in its previous composition. Let's remember that the team started its activity almost 27 years ago as an indie studio.
Relic Entertainment representatives expressed their gratitude to Sega for their ongoing collaboration and emphasized their continued desire to "create amazing experiences" for players in a special statement. Fans will be pleased to know that the studio plans to support its titles published by Sega.
This includes: Company of Heroes 3, which will receive update 1.6 on April 2, three weeks earlier than planned. The update will bring in new units for British and German forces, extra maps, mission and difficulty level selection in co-op mode, and also enemy AI improvements. You will find all the details about changes and updates in the official announcement on Steam.
