Embracer cuts jobs at Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition developer Beamdog

Embracer Group has made layoffs at Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition and Mythforce developer Beamdog less than two years after acquiring the studio.

The Swedish conglomerate purchased Beamdog for an undisclosed fee through its Aspyr Media subsidiary in April 2022. Now, according to multiple Linkedin posts from former Beamdog staffers, the company has laid off 26 members of the dev team including producers, artists, and QA staff.

Former Beamdog associate producer Misia Bloniarz noted that "on Friday, 26 people were laid off at Beamdog and I unfortunately am one of them." The news was corroborated by those affected including the studio's former QA manager Erin McIntyre and associate graphic artist Jill Hollet.

"Regrettably, as part of the Embracer Group's ongoing restructuring initiative, Beamdog made the difficult decision to release 26 employees, myself among them," wrote Hollet. "I am incredibly grateful to them for affording me the opportunity to embark upon my professional journey in the industry. It has been an honor to collaborate with such exceptional individuals during my time there."

Embracer continues putting studios to the sword

This is the latest in a string of layoffs and studio closures Embracer has sanctioned, with the company attempting to streamline operations to become a "highly cash-flow generative business."

In June, the company said it would be switching over from its "current heavy-investment mode" after spending years splashing the cash on major game studios, publishers, and franchises.

After ballooning exponentially, company CEO Lars Wingefors said Embracer needed to divest or close some of its studios and terminate or pause ongoing development projects with "low projected returns" to "better leverage our scale, the quality of our portfolio and our capabilities."

Those ongoing restructuring efforts have already resulted in the closure of notable studios like Volition and Campfire Cabal and layoffs at other companies including Gearbox Publishing and Rainbow Studios.

A recent report from Reuters also indicated Embracer is considering the sale of Borderlands developer Gearbox Entertainment just over two years after it purchased the company for $1.38 billion.

Game Developer has reached out to Embracer for comment on the Beamdog layoffs and will update this story when we hear back.