Sega is offering to buy Angry Birds maker Rovio for $770 million
Sega has canceled "Hyenas" and other unannounced titles. AFP

KEY POINTS

  • The "Sonic the Hedgehog" publisher said other unannounced titles have also been canceled
  • Sega previously said the title was a "challenging" one to develop
  • Creative Assembly said it would try to minimize job losses by reallocating some roles

"Sonic the Hedgehog" publisher Sega has canceled the extraction shooter "Hyenas" before the game's release and hinted at potential layoffs as it works to reduce "fixed expenses."

"In response to the lower profitability of the European region, we have reviewed the title portfolio of each development base in Europe and the resulting action will be to cancel 'Hyenas' and some unannounced titles under development," Sega said in a notice Thursday.

"Hyenas" was being developed at the British studio Creative Assembly, which is best known for the "Total War" series. A beta for the title concluded earlier this month after it was showcased at the German trade fair Gamescom to be experienced by players.

Sega previously said that since "Hyenas" was a "challenging title," the studio was working to improve the game's quality while also implementing final adjustments to its business model, which signaled that the company may have changed its mind about it not being a free-to-play game.

Sega further revealed that it would "implement reduction of various fixed expenses at several group companies in relevant region, centered on the Creative Assembly Ltd." The videogame company added that it would continue considering steps to improve profitability in Europe moving forward.

Creative Assembly has since published a statement on social media, confirming that layoffs are expected at the studio.

"We have made the incredibly difficult decision to begin a redundancy consultation process in some areas of our U.K. operations, alongside ending development of 'Hyenas.' This may, unfortunately, result in job losses," the studio wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

The studio said it would try to reallocate some roles into other open positions within Creative Assembly to minimize job losses.

A source close to Creative Assembly told IGN that staff at the studio were expecting "massive cuts" across the company. The outlet added that the title's cancelation was a surprise to employees even though there was already internal concern that the game, announced in June 2022, was doomed to fail.

The "Hyenas" team also posted on X, saying the decision to cancel the title wasn't made easily. "We knew our plans were ambitious and we knew we were diving headfirst into competition with some of the greats," the team said, adding that they were still "proud to have taken every step along the way."

X users who experienced the beta have begun expressing their sadness over the game's cancelation, with some still hoping to see it or something similar to it in the future.

Sega joins a host of other gaming companies that have reduced their headcount this year, including Activision Blizzard, which reportedly cut its "Hearthstone" team Wednesday.

In mid-September, "Immortals of Aveum" developer Ascendant Studios laid off nearly half of its staff only three weeks after it released the title. The gaming community has had debates about the game's very high technical requirements that appear to have affected its player count on Steam negatively.

In August, "Mass Effect" developer BioWare said it was laying off 50 workers amid a restructuring that should transition the company into "a more agile and more focused studio."

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