Eidos-Montreal is set to lay off an additional 75 staff members, following a prior round of layoffs made in early 2024. Notably, the move is described as necessary as “one of [the studio’s] mandates is coming to an end” and while that’s not specified, we do know one of Eidos-Montreal’s latest commitments was to support Playground Games on Fable.
With less work to go around, Eidos-Montreal management has announced the studio no longer has capacity to support all of its staff, and so, many will now lose their jobs, in a time when finding a new job within the games industry is more difficult than ever.
“It is not a reflection of their dedication or skills, but unfortunately, we don’t have the capacity to entirely reallocate [valuable members] to our other ongoing projects and services,” Eidos-Montreal posted on LinkedIn. “These very talented, highly experienced experts are going to enter the employment market, and we are working to support them through this transition.”
“Eidos-Montreal stays committed to deliver its other projects currently in development.”
Read: Embracer Group will split into three companies by 2025
This announcement is another in a long line of change for Eidos-Montreal. In 2022, the company became part of Embracer Group, as Square Enix sold off many of its European and American assets. While the team maintained work on a range of projects, in 2024, it was announced that a Deus Ex game in development had been cancelled. Subsequently, 97 employees were laid off.
At the time of these layoffs, the company cited global economic context, and the modern challenges of the games industry as reasons. Embracer Group had also recently announced a major restructuring program to reshape the business, following years of acquisitions and overspending.
Eidos-Montreal has now been downsized significantly since its own acquisition. At the very least, it remains open, unlike studios Free Radical Design, Volition, and Campfire Cabal – but yet another round of layoffs isn’t ideal news.
At this stage, it’s unclear what exactly Eidos-Montreal will be developing in future, and what plans Embracer Group has for the studio. As always in cases like these, our thoughts are with those 75 developers now out of work, in one of the toughest times for the games industry yet.
