Crystal Dynamics, one of the developers of modern Tomb Raider games, announced it has laid off a number of employees.
In a post to social media, Crystal Dynamics stated, “This morning, Crystal Dynamics made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce by 17 talented team members. We did not make this decision lightly. Ultimately, this step was necessary to better align our current business needs and the studio’s future success. It is not a reflection of the dedication or ability of those affected.”
The company continued, “we recognize how painful this outcome is for those impacted and we are supporting them with transition packages and opportunity reach.”
“Crystal Dynamics remains committed to pushing the boundaries of making great games,” it concluded. “This change does not alter our current project plans.”
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The last major project Crystal Dynamics developed was Marvel’s Avengers, which released back in September 2020 and shut down in September 2023 with the company stating, “After two-and-a-half years and introducing twelve of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, following Update 2.8 on March 31, 2023, we will no longer add new content or features to Marvel’s Avengers. All official support for the game will end on September 30, 2023.”
Square Enix, who published the game admitted the game lost them money. Square Enix President and Representative Director Yosuke Matsuda revealed in the company’s 2021 Annual Report, “It has unfortunately not proven as successful as we would have liked. … While the new challenge that we tackled with this title produced a disappointing outcome, we are certain that the GaaS approach will grow in importance as gaming becomes more service oriented.”
The company has also published remasters of Tomb Raider and Legacy of Kain, but was criticized for adding a trigger warning to Tomb Raider Remastered I-III, which stated, “The games in this collection contain offensive depictions of people and cultures rooted in racial and ethnic prejudices. These stereotypes are deeply harmful, inexcusable, and do not align with our values at Crystal Dynamics.”
It adds, “Rather than removing this content, we have chosen to present it here in its original form, unaltered, in the hopes that we may acknowledge its harmful impact and learn from it.”
Video game critic and YouTuber, Melonie Mac even called for Crystal Dynamics’ parent company, Embracer Group, to shut Crystal Dynamics down after the company approved of a TTRPG collaboration with Evil Hat Productions that ditched Lara Croft’s Tomb Raider profession.
“It is my fervent wish that Embracer [Group] ends up shutting this down,” Mac said. “I don’t know if they will though because there is a partnership with Amazon going on. So I don’t know how that would work, but it definitely would be the dream if they shut that down, closed Crystal Dynamics down, and just focused on the classic remasters and everything from there we’ll see with another studio.”
“Otherwise what’s going to happen is we are going to see this Woke Raider in a new game. It’s going to be trash,” she asserted.
As for what the company’s current projects are, it was announced back in 2022 that it was working with Amazon Games on a new “single-player, narrative-driven adventure that continues Lara Croft’s story in the Tomb Raider series.”
At the time of the announcement Head of Studios at Crystal Dynamics Scot Amos said, “Crystal Dynamics has an extraordinary opportunity following our acquisition by Embracer to redefine what a publishing relationship is for Tomb Raider. Transformative is what we’re looking for, and with Amazon Games, we found a team that shares our creative vision, ambitions, and values for a Lara Croft universe across the spectrum of possibilities. They’re uniquely positioned to rewrite what publishing and development collaborations are, and we’re eager to forge this new path together, starting with building the biggest and best Tomb Raider game yet!”
What do you make of these layoffs at Crystal Dynamics?
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Are we sure this press statement about layoffs has been vetted by their HR and management? I mean, it does not contain any attacks on gamers or Western society and there is zero mention of "bigots" and outdated values. It must, therefore, be a rogue statement by one of their disgruntled employees, surely?
On the other hand, it does not say "we were dumb and screwed up and this is the consequence" either, so who knows?