Yesterday, Sega of America workers locked in union protection with a ratified contract

Sega Europe announced on Thursday that it is selling off Company of Heroes 3 and Age of Empires 4 developer Relic Entertainment while cutting around 240 jobs at several other Sega Europe studios.

Relic Entertainment confirmed that it is becoming independent with the help of an outside investor; under this new structure, it will continue to support Company of Heroes 3 and its next update will come in April. "This is a huge change for us, but one thing doesn't change: we want to create great experiences for our players," read a post on the company's X account (formerly Twitter). Sega's shares in Relic were transferred to a holding company to be "re-established by British investment firm Emona Capital," according to Sega's financial disclosures. Emona Capital is also invested in Amber, a game development services company; it invested $20 million in that company in 2022.

In its final disclosure statement, Sega Europe said it is laying off 240 people "in order to optimize fixed expenses." Affected studios include Sega Europe, Creative Assembly and Sega Hardlight, according to GamesIndusty.biz. Sega Europe expects to record roughly $10 million, or ¥1.5 billion, in losses related to the "corporate restructuring." These layoffs follow cutbacks at Sega in 2023, when the company canceled Hyenas, a shooter from Creative Assembly. Two hundred and fifty people were laid off at the time, Sega Europe confirmed in Thursday's statement. In the seven months since Hyenas was cancelled, that means around 500 people have been laid off from Sega. That's in addition to 121 layoffs at Relic Entertainment in May 2023.