Crystal Dynamics, which is presently engaged on a Excellent Darkish reboot and a brand new Tomb Raider sport, has introduced the layoff of 17 staff.
“This morning, Crystal Dynamics made the tough determination to cut back our workforce by 17 gifted group members,” the studio stated in a message posted to X. “We didn’t make this determination frivolously. Finally, this step was essential to raised align our present enterprise wants and the studio’s future success. It isn’t a mirrored image of the dedication or means of these affected.”
The previous 5 years haven’t been particularly form to Crystal Dynamics. Marvel’s Avengers, the reside service superhero sport that debuted in 2020 (and CD’s final massive mission), did poorly and was faraway from sale simply three years later. The studio itself, in the meantime, was acquired by Embracer in 2022, and whereas that finally put Tomb Raider again within the studio’s palms, it additionally occurred lower than a 12 months forward of Embracer’s notorious $2 billion “tough night time” that noticed quite a few studios gutted and closed.
As sport business layoffs go, 17 is not an enormous quantity, a minimum of when in comparison with the tens of hundreds which were put out of labor over the previous few years. That is clearly no consolation to the individuals who have been let go, nor does it seem to be an particularly good signal for a studio that by all appearances has loads to do.
Crystal Dynamics is presently co-developing a reboot of Excellent Darkish alongside The Initiative; it is also obtained a brand new Tomb Raider on the go, the primary new addition to the sequence since Shadow of the Tomb Raider in 2018, though nothing’s been heard about that for the reason that reveal of character artwork in early 2024. It is also just lately labored with Aspyr on remasters of older Tomb Raider video games and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver.
The studio stated the layoffs will “not alter our present mission plans.”
