Last year, news broke of the Embracer Group’s financial hardships, which resulted in lots of projects being cancelled, and employees being laid off.

As it turns out, this is all being done to protect the shareholders. This was revealed by the company in its third quarter fiscal earnings report (ended Dec. 31, 2023). Embracer’s “overruling principle is to always maximize shareholder value in any given situation.”

In total, Embracer has reduced their total global headcount by 8% since the start of the restructuring program. It seems the bleeding isn’t stopping there, as Lars Wingsfor, Embracer Group CEO, states that the company is unlikely to reach its target of bringing net debt below SEK 8 billion (roughly around $761 million) by the end of the current fiscal year.

Also of note, don’t be surprised to see Embracer sell some of the studios it owns, and from the sound of it, more layoffs are incoming as well.

“As part of the restructuring program, Embracer still has a few larger structured divestment processes ongoing that could strengthen our balance sheet and further reduce capex. Processes are in mature stages. Certain companies might initiate restructuring before any divestment is announced. Our overruling principle is to always maximize shareholder value in any given situation. We are unlikely to reach the restructuring program target of below SEK 8 billion in net debt by March 31. Certain divestments could significantly reduce net debt post March 31, 2024. To be clear, our group leverage target of net debt to Adjusted EBIT of 1.0x on a 12-month forward looking basis remains unchanged.”

It seems every news that surfaces for the Embracer Group has been a bad one. Let’s hope that trend ends soon. Not only that, but also for the executive team to also think about the people it employs and  not just its shareholders.

The most recent high profile game that was a victim of Embracer’s layoffs was the in-development Deus Ex, as Eidos Montreal has been hit with layoffs.