Eidos-Montréal Layoffs — $100M Game Cancellation Shakes Studio Future

After a wave of layoffs that put more than 100 workers out of work and caused the studio head to leave, things at Eidos-Montréal are still getting worse. It looks like the layoffs that were first attributed to restructuring were much worse now that we know there were internal differences and a major project was lost.

Right now, it looks like the company relies a lot on outside help, working on Microsoft projects like Fable and Grounded 2. This has led people to worry that the studio isn't taking the lead on its own big projects anymore and is instead mostly serving as a support system. A new story indicates that the real reason for the cuts is the conclusion of an ongoing internal project known as "Wildlands."

A nearly finished $100 million game was canceled before it came out to the public.

The game was said to have been in the works since 2019 and was described as an open-world, third-person action-adventure game with some very bold design choices. But the process of growth was anything but smooth. Sources say the project struggled with ongoing story issues and multiple engine changes—the project went through four different game engines.

Because of these problems, the budget grew so large that it went over nine figures, meaning more than $100 million had already been spent. Even with these problems, the delay is even stranger because the game was said to be almost finished. It was said to have reached a point where final polishing and quality checks were underway, so the decision to cancel it at that stage was very strange.

It looks like money was the main reason for the cancellation. Embracer Group, the parent business, may have decided that the possible return on investment would not be worth the cost of marketing and releasing the game. The company may also be able to take financial write-downs that it wouldn't have been able to if the game had come out on store shelves.

This failed project had effects that went beyond just one book. Reports say that the company also scrapped a number of other projects as a result. One of these was a new Deus Ex game that had been in development as late as early 2024. All of this makes me worry about what will happen to Eidos-Montréal in the future.

Big internal projects have been shelved, leadership has been fired, and the company relies heavily on contract work.

It's becoming more and more unclear whether it can continue to run on its own. One result that could happen is Microsoft stepping in. There is talk that Microsoft might buy the studio or hire its surviving employees, as it helped develop games like Fable (by Playground Games) and Grounded 2 (by Obsidian Entertainment).

A move like this could bring security and protect jobs, but it's still unclear whether any acquisition talks are underway. For now, it looks like the studio's future depends on how long its present support contracts last. If those contracts end without any new projects lined up, things could get even less certain for Eidos-Montréal, and this could be the end of the story.