Swedish holding company Embracer Group, owners of Asmodee, which in turn owns several major tabletop game companies and products, has announced impending restructuring and layoffs. This follows a period of rapid expansion and acquisition and may have something to do with this decision as Embracer Group attempts to consolidate and streamline all of their many resources.
In the company’s release about the restructuring, Embracer’s CEO, Lars Wingefors, stated, “The program presented today will transform us from our current heavy-investment-mode to a highly cash-flow generative business this year.” He also cited a “worsening economy” as a major factor in the decision.
Regarding the layoffs, Wingefors said, “I am asking all our managers to lead and act with compassion, respect, and integrity.” He went on to say that the company will do their best to find affected employees new opportunities elsewhere.
The changes will take place in phases from now until March of 2024. Embracer Group says that projects which might be terminated will be almost exclusively those which haven’t been announced, while “all announced significant releases will still be released as planned.”
The statement listed some specific examples of named projects which will still be released, but all of these were video games, with no reference to tabletop products, so we don’t yet know what the impact will be on them.
Asmodee tabletop game subsidiaries include top publishers, including Atomic Mass Games, Catan Studio, Days Of Wonder, Fantasy Flight Games, Z-Man Games, and many others.
