Embracer lay off around 50 people at Chorus and Galaxy on Fire developer Fishlabs

The Embracer mass layoffs train has come for Fishlabs, the Hamburg-based studio behind space shooter Chorus. Embracer have laid off more than half the Fishlabs team - "around 50 people" - as part of a restructuring operation that has already seen the Swedish conglomerate cut over 900 jobs across their business over the summer.

VGC and Eurogamer broke the news earlier this afternoon, citing sources close to the studio. Fishlabs have now confirmed the report in a social media post. "Unfortunately, the challenging year in the industry, as well as the challenges of internal group-wide restructuring efforts have affected our team after all," it reads. "We are heart-broken to announce that we had to face the tough decision from Embracer Group of layoffs in our studio."

The studio previously had 95 staff, with a few people let go in September after a smaller project based on internal IP was cancelled, Eurogamer reports. According to VGC's sources, meanwhile, Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors told staff this morning that a "lack of approval and financing" for another in-development project had left Embracer with "no other choice" but to make further cuts.

Fishlabs have worked as a support studio, helping out with the Switch ports of two Saints Row games and the Xbox port of Valheim, but they're best known for the mobile and PC-based Galaxy on Fire space simulators. Chorus, their most recent release, was also fairly well-received: in our own review, Sam Greer called it "a surprisingly tight arcade space fighter wrapped up in a wonderful bundle of pompous space magic", let down mostly by a wobbly intro. I've only played a couple of hours myself, but I really enjoy the world design's emphasis on vertical structures that form a clean horizon - it's a 3D space sim, but in the opening sectors, at least, it often feels like you're exploring a vast, zero-G archipelago.

Sadly, however, Chorus hasn't sold well enough for Embracer, though Eurogamer's sources describe the decision to cut staff as a surprise, especially this close to Xmas. The official Fishlabs statement acknowledges this.

"We have to recognise that it has been especially disheartening to hear this news for our team and their families as the holiday season approaches," it reads. "We are working with the leadership team at PLAION to support every affected team member and help as many of them through career transition assistance and comprehensive severance packages."

Among the Fishlabs staff laid off are 3D character artist Anton Komarov, senior character artist Fritz Valencia, senior technical artist Nils Svenningsen, and senior game designer Inari Bornholm.

According to the Fishlabs statement, the studio will remain open as "a small, but passionate and committed team" dedicated to "smaller projects".

Embracer's restructuring is still in the early stages, an executive commented last week, with more cancellations and closures likely. It's rumoured that Timesplitters studio Free Radical are facing closure, while Borderlands creators Gearbox could be sold off.

Best of luck to everybody affected.