Sega has sold Relic Entertainment and will cut 240 roles across Sega Europe, Creative Assembly, and Sega HARDlight. Relic, known for the Company of Heroes and Dawn of War games, will transition to an independent studio and will no longer be part of the Sega group of studios.
The majority of the job cuts will be across Creative Assembly and Sega Europe, with a ‘small number’ from Sega HARDLight. There was no mention of other Sega UK studios, including Two Point Studios and Sports Interactive.
Creative Assembly had already faced redundancies following the cancellation of its Hyenas project last year.
Jurgen Post, the newly appointed head of Sega Europe, expressed his well wishes for Relic’s future and apologized for the distress caused by the news. He emphasized that the decisions were tough but necessary for the future of the games business, and to ensure the best possible experiences for players going forward.
Post also apologized to the staff for any distress caused by hearing the news through social media or trade press, due to Sega’s legal obligation to notify the Tokyo Stock Exchange first.
Sega’s cuts are the latest in a series of layoffs that have impacted the games industry over the last 12 months, with almost every major games company reducing headcount due to sluggish growth and rising costs.
