The gaming industry continues to be feverish. It has become known that Sega has sold Relic Entertainment, which is known as the developer of such popular games as Company of Heroes and Dawn of War. The studio has recently developed a new Age of Empires for Microsoft. Relic is transforming into an independent studio and will no longer be part of the Sega group of studios.
«Sega has been working closely with Relic on this change and we wish them all the best for the future,» wrote Juergen Post, who is the newly appointed head of Sega Europe.
Other studios that remain part of Sega should prepare for layoffs. The company will cut 240 jobs at Sega Europe, Creative Assembly, and Sega HARDlight.
The majority of the 240 job cuts will be at Creative Assembly and Sega Europe, while «a small number of» employees will be laid off from Sega HARDLight. There is no word yet on layoffs at other Sega studios, including Two Point Studios and Sports Interactive.
Creative Assembly has already suffered a number of layoffs following the cancellation of its Hyenas project last year.
The company has apologized to employees if they learn about the layoffs through social media or the media. This is due to Sega’s legal obligation to first notify the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Sega’s layoffs are the latest in a long series of layoffs that have affected the gaming industry over the past 12 months. Recently, almost all major gaming companies have been downsizing due to slow growth and rising costs.
Source: gamesindustry