Sega Europe is going through some major restructuring, and as a result, it is laying off about 240 developers and letting Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War and Company of Heroes developer Relic Entertainment spin off as an independent company.
Although Sega’s Japanese developers are known for their platformers, action games, and RPGs, its European output is more strategy game-focused. A key component of that was Relic Entertainment, which has made games like Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III, Age of Empires IV, and Company of Heroes 3 over the past decade. With the help of investment company Emona Capital, Relic is buying itself back from Sega and going independent for an undisclosed amount. Relic addressed going independent on X (formerly Twitter) with a message.
Unfortunately, Relic Entertainment isn’t the only company impacted by Sega Europe’s restructuring. In a press release, Sega confirmed it “decided to reduce headcount by approximately 240 roles at several bases in the European region with the aim of optimizing fixed expenses.” Reporting from IGN has clarified that studios impacted include Sega Europe at large, Creative Assembly, which is best known for making the Total War series of strategy games, and Sega Hardlight, which put out the Apple Arcade exclusive Sonic Dream Team just last December.
IGN shared an email from Sega Europe Managing Director Jurgen Post, who further apologized for the layoffs. “Before I go on, I want to sincerely apologize for the worry and understandable distress this news will cause, particularly for those directly affected. These decisions have been incredibly tough to make, and they follow meticulous consideration and deliberation with leadership teams across the business. Change is necessary to secure the future of our games business and to ensure that we are well placed to deliver the best possible experiences to our players going forward,” Post said.
These layoffs did not seem to impact Sega employees in the United States or Japan. In fact, Sega of America employees just successfully unionized yesterday, so they’ll have more protections if layoffs like this happen to them.
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