European games firm Embracer Group, huh? Boy, they’ve been through a bit of a whirlwind lately. So, picture this: they lost over 1,800 folks in the past financial year. Bam. Just like that.
I stumbled upon this tidbit in their annual report — yeah, thanks, Game Developer for pointing that out. By the end of their 24/25 financial calendar, they were down by 1,857 staff compared to 23/24. Wild, right? And this isn’t their first rodeo; last year, around 1,400 employees got the boot.
Oh, but wait a minute. Not all these people just got pink slips — some were casualties of Embracer selling off studios like Gearbox and Saber Interactive. It’s kind of like clearing out your garage, but with, you know, actual people involved.
This could be the fallout from their grand restructuring drama. Remember when that mega investment from Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Group evaporated? Guess that might’ve sparked some chaos. Anyway — or hold up, wait, was I going somewhere with this? — they’re now morphing into three publicly-traded entities. Yeah, they’re slicing themselves up like a financial pizza.
And check this out: CEO Lars Wingefors is passing the baton to Phil Rogers, a guy who’s been around the Square Enix block a few times. Lars dropped this emotional letter to shareholders saying how he’s chummy with Phil and believes he’s the man for the job. Who knows? Maybe it’s all a big ol’ cozy corporate hug fest.
Lars is sliding into a new role as executive chairman of the Board. It sounds fancy, right? He wants to keep pushing Embracer to grow and be this towering giant of gaming glory. Or something like that. He’s got plans — big plans, probably drawn up on napkins or something between coffee breaks. And well, I’m guessing he’s kinda hopeful about what’s next. The best is yet to come, as they say.
