Embracer’s Black Forest Games is reportedly cutting 50% of its staff

Embracer-owned studio Black Forest Games reportedly plans to lay off approximately half of its employees.

According to a Kotaku source, the cuts were announced on January 24. It’s claimed that the studio’s creative directors and most “if not all” of its managers are expected to keep their jobs, with more information to be confirmed next week.

Founded in 2012 and located in Offenburg, Germany, Black Forest Games has over 100 employees, according to its website.

Embracer operating group THQ Nordic acquired the studio in 2017, along with intellectual properties including Giana Sisters, Helldorado and Rogue Stormers.

In recent years, Black Forest Games has developed a couple of Destroy All Humans! Remakes, and it’s currently working on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin.

Fellow German THQ Nordic studio Piranha Bytes is reportedly facing closure as part of Embracer Group’s ongoing restructuring efforts.

Embracer announced last June that it was implementing a restructuring programme which would involve the closure of studios, layoffs and the cancellation of some projects.

It has since shut studios like Saints Row developer Volition, Campfire Cabal and Free Radical Design, while others have reportedly been put up for sale, such as Borderlands maker Gearbox.

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During its second financial quarter ending in September 2023, the company made more than 900 layoffs, with cuts impacting such studios as Crystal Dynamics, Beamdog, Zen Studios and Fishlabs.

Last month Embracer made layoffs at New World Interactive, 3D Realms and Slipgate Ironworks, and this month “a sizable portion” of Gearbox support studio Lost Boys Interactive was also laid off.