Sega cancels Creative Assembly's Hyenas amid "structural reforms"

Original story: Sega has cancelled Creative Assembly's upcoming title Hyenas due to "structural reforms."

The news was announced via a statement on Sega Sammy Holdings' website, with the company citing a "rapidly changing business environment" as the reason behind the restructuring, specifically mentioning a decline in "stay-at-home demand [during] COVID-19" and an ongoing economic downturn in Europe due to inflation.

Other unannounced games have been cancelled too, though the firm didn't clarify from which studios.

Sega expects to record losses of approximately ¥14.3 billion ($95.7 million) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, it added.

"In response to lower profitability of the European region, we have reviewed the title portfolio of each development based in Europe and the resulting action will be to cancel Hyenas and some unannounced titles under development," the company's statement said. "Accordingly, we will implement a write-down of work-in-progress for titles under development."

Reporting on the news, Eurogamer said that layoffs are expected. GamesIndustry.biz reached out to Creative Assembly for comment.

Sci-fi first-person shooter Hyenas was announced in June 2022 and only recently finished its closed beta. It had been met with largely positive reviews and was due to release this year.

Update: Creative Assembly has confirmed a redundancy consultation process has begun at the studio and "may result in job losses."

"We fully understand that this has a significant impact on our people whether they are directly affected or not — which we are truly sorry for," the Horsham-based studio wrote on social media.

"We have always aimed to operate as a 'people-first' studio; that is foundational to our values and culture," it continued. "While we must go through this incredibly difficult process, we will prioritise supporting our people at every step."

Creative Assembly said it will work to move those "whose jobs are at risk" to "other available roles within CA wherever possible, and ultimately minimise any job losses."

The studio said its commitment to other projects and its players remains the same. "While this is a difficult moment across CA, we look forward to sharing more about our plans in the future."

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