Embracer Group announced last week that it would sell Gearbox Software for $460,000,000 to Grand Theft Auto Publisher Take-Two. Several Gearbox staffers announced their departure from the company on social media within hours of the purchase. Gearbox confirmed today that these employees have left the company.
Gearbox has released a statement for European Gamer in which it states that an undetermined number of staff members have been laid off, but they are not involved with the future development of games. Gearbox announced last week it had six games in development, including Borderlands 2.
Gearbox’s statement says: “We are thankful that you and your audiences are interested in our talents and capabilities as we work towards fulfilling our mission of entertaining the world.” The Embracer Group continues to provide updates on its restructuring program, which has affected some Gearbox Software parts that aren’t tied to game development.
Gearbox did not reveal the exact number of employees who were let go. However, several staff took to Twitter to share their news of departure shortly after the announcement. Gearbox’s PR manager Jennifer Locke said on X she was among “countless other” employees affected. This information came from Eurogamer.
Embracer has spent the last few months either selling off its studios, shutting them down or laying off employees as part of a massive restructuring process to recoup losses from this failed deal. Embracer spent the past few months closing down its studios or layoff employees in an effort to recover losses from a failed $2 billion deal with Saudi Arabia-backed Savvy Games Group.
[Source: Eurogamer]