Japanese publisher Sega announced the sale of Canadian studio Relic Entertainment (Homeworld, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, Company of Heroes) and large-scale layoffs that will take place in the company's European division.
Relic joined Sega in 2013 and in the nearly 11 years since then has released three games – Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III (2017), Age of Empires IV (2021) and Company of Heroes 3 (2023).
How reported Relic on the official microblog, thanks to an unnamed third-party investor, the studio has regained its independent status, with which it began its journey in the gaming industry almost 27 years ago.
In a message to players, Relic assured that it will continue to support its projects, including Company of Heroes 3 – patch 1.6 is due out for the strategy in April with fixes and innovations based on fan feedback.
As for the layoffs, they will affect 240 employees at Sega Europe, Creative Assembly (Total War series) and Hardlight (Sonic Dream Team). Sports Interactive (Football Manager) and Two Point Studios (Two Point Hospital) were not mentioned in the announcement.
The head of Sega Europe, Jurgen Post, in an address to employees, called the next wave of layoffs in the European division a necessity to ensure the future of the company.
Last May, Sega laid off more than 120 Relic employees, and in September it canceled multiplayer shooter Hyenas and launched a restructuring of its European studios to make them more efficient.
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