ALL THE LATEST NEWS ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF PC GAMES

News

Embracer lays off 50 staff at Fishlabs

Embracer lays off 50 staff at Fishlabs

German developer Fishlabs is the latest Embracer outfit to experience job cuts.

As reported by VGC, 50 members of staff are losing their jobs at the studio. The news came from Embracer Group boss Lars Wingefors. Fishlabs employs in the region of 120 people, meaning that around 40 per cent of the studio is being laid off.

The developer was formerly Deep Silver Fishlabs but came under the Embracer umbrella when its parent company, Koch Media, was acquired. The firm rebranded as Plaion in August 2022. 

“Despite exhaustive efforts to avoid downsizing, the lack of approval and therefore financing for the studio’s unannounced project (also referred to as 'Project Black') has made this step unavoidable,” a Plaion spokesperson said.

“The remaining team will continue to work on the existing co-development projects in partnership with other Plaion and Embracer Group studios.

“We understand the profound impact of this decision on our talented team at Fishlabs and are committed to handling this transition with the utmost respect and care. To support those affected, Plaion is committed to providing comprehensive support, including severance packages as well help with career transition services.”

This is the latest set of layoffs in Embracer's stable. The company let over 900 members of staff go between July and September of this year, with more cuts yet to come.


PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.