Embracer cuts jobs at Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition developer Beamdog

gamedeveloper.com:

Embracer Group has made layoffs at Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition and Mythforce developer Beamdog less than two years after acquiring the studio.

The Swedish conglomerate purchased Beamdog for an undisclosed fee through its Aspyr Media subsidiary in April 2022. Now, according to multiple Linkedin posts from former Beamdog staffers, the company has laid off 26 members of the dev team including producers, artists, and QA staff.

Former Beamdog associate producer Misia Bloniarz noted that "on Friday, 26 people were laid off at Beamdog and I unfortunately am one of them." The news was corroborated by those affected including the studio's former QA manager Erin McIntyre and associate graphic artist Jill Hollet.

"Regrettably, as part of the Embracer Group's ongoing restructuring initiative, Beamdog made the difficult decision to release 26 employees, myself among them," wrote Hollet. "I am incredibly grateful to them for affording me the opportunity to embark upon my professional journey in the industry. It has been an honor to collaborate with such exceptional individuals during my time there."

This is the latest in a string of layoffs and studio closures Embracer has sanctioned, with the company attempting to streamline operations to become a "highly cash-flow generative business."

In June, the company said it would be switching over from its "current heavy-investment mode" after spending years splashing the cash on major game studios, publishers, and franchises.

After ballooning exponentially, company CEO Lars Wingefors said Embracer needed to divest or close some of its studios and terminate or pause ongoing development projects with "low projected returns" to "better leverage our scale, the quality of our portfolio and our