The remote-first video game development studio under the Embracer Group, Lost Boys Interactive, has announced another round of layoffs, which is just the latest of such job cuts at the parent company’s studios. This announcement was made through LinkedIn as the studio went on to confirm that the latest layoffs affected employees located across the U.S.
According to Shaun Nivens, who is the CEO of Lost Boys Interactive, this decision was not taken lightly and it was made only after exhausting all possibilities. The layoffs were carried out to respond to changing trends in the video game market which in turn obliged the company to reconsider and change its operations to correspond to the demands of the business and its partners.
Embracer studio Lost Boys Interactive confirms another round of layoffs
— Game Developer (@gamedevdotcom) September 9, 2024
The co-development studio, known for working on Tiny Tina's Wonderlands and Diablo IV, is cutting more jobs after previously making layoffs Januaryhttps://t.co/xqKu9iIBlc pic.twitter.com/e286GFBJ7c
Lost Boys Interactive reduces workforce amid market shifts
Lost Boys Interactive has forged relationships with well-known game publishing companies such as Gearbox Software, Blizzard Entertainment, Visual Concepts, Zenimax Online and 2K. This has allowed them to participate in and complete a number of well-known game development projects.
However, despite this record, the studio is now facing a steady reduction of its employee workforce as a part of broader challenges that the Embracer Group and the industry in general are currently facing.
In his LinkedIn post, Nivens stated that the restructuring was necessitated by changes in the market that required the studio’s operations to be revamped. He admitted that it wasn’t easy to take such steps but added that, given the circumstances, such measures could not be avoided. However, the company has not provided the specific extent of employees laid off, but since the studio works remotely, there is a likelihood that workers across multiple states have likely been affected.
This specific round of layoffs at Lost Boys Interactive comes at a time when the Embracer Group is facing more struggles. It has been reported that Embracer has regularly been in the news in the past year on account of shutting down, downsizing, and laying off employees in most of the studios it owns. This latest development at Lost Boys Interactive further emphasizes the financial burden and operational difficulties that a large number of the studios in the Embracer Group are currently dealing with.