We’re barely two days into the week and already we’re seeing a second video game industry major layoff event, with Square Enix the latest to shed staff as part of a wider restructuring effort that’s been revealed in recent days.
According to reporting from VGC, the news was announced to staff in an internal meeting with the company’s president, Takashi Kiryu, where it was revealed that a number of employees within Square Enix’ US and European divisions will be subject to termination over the coming month. The report suggests that, while the full scope of these layoffs isn’t entirely clear yet, staff within the publishing, IT, and Square Enix Collective segments will be the ones most affected.
Square Enix has confirmed that it has cancelled a number of unannounced game projects because they don’t fit with its new strategy.https://t.co/XMhqluCOkv pic.twitter.com/7FBijDNLeR
— VGC (@VGC_News) May 13, 2024
Square Enix spoke to some of these reforms in its most recent financial report, where it said that it would aim to “rebuild overseas business divisions from the ground up” and had begun “optimising costs” at its European and US offices via “structural reforms,” which is now clear includes mass layoffs. Reportedly, staff affected have already been informed of the loss of their jobs and Square’s main Slack channels have been locked while this all rolls out.
The same report also revealed the company’s new multiplatform strategy going forward, which should see it put more emphasis on its major AAA releases and franchises and make efforts to release to more platforms than before. The company had also earlier revealed it was taking a $220 million hit to its finances for the fiscal year ending March 31st, 2024, as it cancelled a number of already-greenlit or already-in-development games that didn’t fall within the bounds of its new strategy. You can read the full report here.
It’s disheartening to once again see consolidation efforts and course-correction at the hands of executives and leadership put developers in the firing line first, and hopefully those affected are able to find their feet again in due time.
