Sega has sold Company of Heroes developer Relic Entertainment, and announced 240 layoffs to come across several of its European studios. Meanwhile, unionized Sega employees in the US have reached a significant collective bargaining agreement.
This latest round of industry belt tightening will affect employees in three of Sega’s studios–Creative Assembly, Sega Europe, and Sega HARDLight. According to GamesIndustry.biz, Sony Europe head Juergen Post sent an email about the cuts, with rationale similar to what we’ve been hearing from the many companies shedding staff over the past year.
“We need to streamline, focus on what we are good at, and position ourselves as best we can for the road ahead. In order to do that, we need to respond to the changing economic landscape and the challenges we’re facing in the way we develop our products and bring them to market.” Post said in that email.
While those cuts will be handled by Sega, things are headed in a new direction for Relic. The company announced that thanks to “an external investor”, Relic is going independent. The team shared a message on social media, both reassuring and thanking fans, and thanking Sega for its past support and guidance as they exit the company. Relic also took the time to assure that their games will continue getting support, with the next Company of Heroes 3 update set to add new content in April.
Important Update from Relic Entertainment pic.twitter.com/nCcF8olDaC
— Relic Entertainment (@relicgames) March 28, 2024
Sega employees in the US that sought unionization representation by the Communication Workers of America under Allied Employees Guild Improving SEGA (AEGIS-CWA) reached an agreement on a contract that will include raises for represented employees, additional benefits and bonuses, just cause and layoff protections, and a commitment to notify workers about any proposed use of AI technology in the workplace. This union represents 150 full time and temporary employees at Sega studios in California, according to an announcement of the deal.
