It's always sad news when there are layoffs in gaming, but it's infuriating when those layoffs are a result of clear over-expansion. For years Embracer has been buying up studios and IP with no clear plan on what to do with it all (Why did they need the Kingdom's of Amalur IP? To release that remaster?) and we've all sort of wondered what the end game is, and now they've come to realize that they need to get leaner and actually focus on a sustainable business model and it's the developers who pay the price, as well as IP that will probably be locked in a vault somewhere because they can't keep churning out these mid budget remakes (to be fair the Destroy All Humans remakes were really, really, good.)

I feel like this is a problem across the industry, many industries in fact. Hoarding of IPs and even studios that inevitably lead to layoffs. I feel bad for those affected and hope Embracer can figure out an actual business model that works as a publisher. It's not even that they don't put out good games because sometimes they do, it's that they don't really seem to know whether they want to be the AA publisher or compete with the AAA big boys, and they often buy stuff that they seem not to know what to do with. Like that Saints Row game from last year.

I guess it was a tell when they announced that they had failed to acquire someone, and their stock price immediately fell by an enormous amount. It’s pretty staggering how much blood, sweat, and treasure gets vaporized when a boardroom feels their numbers aren’t accelerating quickly enough.

Is the best case scenario that they sell off most of what they cut to more competent owners? They aren’t likely to get a Tomb Raider flip profit again.

@allthedinos: Crystal Dynamics independently announced that they are not affected (because they are co-developing games with Amazon and Microsoft).

Honestly I think that if it were not for the whole Activision deal debacle it would make the most sense for Microsoft to buy Crystal Dynamics, since they're already working on a Microsoft property. But I think Microsoft is avoiding acquisitions while the Activision thing is bogged down.

In terms of the best outcome, I have no idea what makes sense for them business wise. From my personal perspective I'd rather they focus on putting out old games with some polish added (like they claimed they were going to restore Knights of the Old Republic on Switch before just giving up on it recently) or doing some of the AA remake and new game stuff like they did with Spongebob. I think moving into AAA may make sense at some point but I don't think they've pulled it off yet, while some of their remakes have been quite good.

But I have no idea if there's any profit in that. There's a reason that AA has fallen off so much and it's not because the companies doing it were making TOO much money.

I really don't know what's best for them. Selling the IP and studios off seems like they're likely to take a loss, but it's not clear how to exploit all that stuff in the modern market.

I just personally would rather see games like Spongebob The Cosmic Shake than that Saints Row game everyone hated.

Leave Warhorse Studios alone!

I’ve been patiently waiting over 5 years for the sequel to Kingdom Come: Deliverance.