Summary
Tomb RaiderdeveloperCrystal Dynamicshas recently laid off 17 employees. The game industry has been facing a rough time as development costs increase and faith in the industry seems to be low.Crystal Dynamicsis likely the latest company to use layoffs as a way to deal with the current crisis.
Created back in 1992, Crystal Dynamics has created somehighly popular franchises such asTomb Raider,Gex, andSoul Reaver. In the last few years, the studio has been mostly known for the newestTomb Raidertrilogy, released between 2013 and 2018, andMarvel’s Avengersin 2020. Until 2022, the developer belonged to Square Enix, but it was then sold to the Embracer Group, which currently owns it.
Now, Crystal Dynamics has announced that 17 employees have been laid off from the company. According to the official announcement, the decision was made to “better align our current business needs and the studio’s future success,” and it will not alter any current plans the company has. Crystal Dynamics' official website states that the studio has over 300 employees, so these recent layoffs have likely impacted less than 10% of the company.
Crystal Dynamics Lays Off 17 Employees
It’s currently unknown if these layoffs will affect the development of games such asPerfect Darkand the next entry in theTomb Raiderfranchise in any way. Back in 2024, it was reported thatPerfect Dark’s development was already in turmoil, as the game was in a very rough state.Perfect Darkwas originally being developed by Microsoft’s The Initiative Studio, and Crystal Dynamics started to collaborate on the game’s development in 2021.
Unfortunately, it’s not entirely surprising to see Crystal Dynamics laying off employees. Apart from thepotentially serious troubles withPerfect Dark, other recent projects of the studio, such asMarvel’s Avengers, failed to connect with the public, as the title was delisted from all stores in September 2023.
Crystal Dynamics’ owner, Embracer Group, has also been planning more layoffs since the start of 2025, with some of its studios, such as Black Forest Games, cutting as much as half of its entire staff. Last month, the company’s CEO, Lars Wingefors, revealed that therecent layoffs at the Embracer Group were designed to maximize shareholder value, a remark that was met with strong backlash at the time. In any case, it remains to be seen how Crystal Dynamics will be after the layoffs, and whether it will negatively influence projects such asPerfect Darkor the nextTomb Raider.
