ALL THE LATEST NEWS ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF PC GAMES

News

Report: Black Forest Games cuts 50% of staff

Report: Black Forest Games cuts 50% of staff

Black Forest Games is apparently the latest Embracer Group company to face job cuts.

Kotaku reports that 50 per cent of the studio's staff are being laid off. One source claims that creative directors and "if not all" management are keeping their positions.

Black Forest Games was founded in 2012 and has worked on a variety of IP including Giana Sisters and Rogue Stormers.

The German company was acquired by Embracer Group in 2017 and was put to work on a remake of THQ classic title Destroy All Humans. That title launched in 2020 to mixed reviews but beat Embracer's sales expectations.

The studio is also working on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles title The Last Ronin.

Embracer Group has made massive layoffs in the last year, cutting over 900 jobs between July and September alone. This is due to a $2 billion deal – reportedly with Saudi Arabia – that fell apart at the eleventh hour.

PCGamesInsider.biz has reached out to Embracer for comment. 


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.