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Crystal Dynamics has announced a new round of layoffs since March.
They made this announcement on LinkedIn:
Today we made the very difficult decision to part ways with a number of our talented colleagues as the result of evolving business conditions.
This decision was not made lightly. It was necessary, however, to ensure the long-term health of our studio and core creative priorities in a continually shifting market.
To those impacted – we recognize and thank you for your hard work, talent, and passion. We are committed to offering the full extent of support and resources at our disposal during this transition.
To our teams, players, and partners, thank you for your continued support as we build a creative, sustainable, and resilient tomorrow together. This includes the future of Tomb Raider, which remains unaffected by this decision.
Did These Layoffs Happen Because of Perfect Dark?
Some gamers are opining that these layoffs have something to do with the reported cancellation of the Perfect Dark reboot. Because Microsoft won’t talk about these layoffs, they never officially confirmed that the game was cancelled or that their studio, The Initiative was shut down.
It’s possible that these layoffs are related to that game being cancelled. But the bigger picture is cloudier. This year, Crystal Dynamics shipped Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered. They shipped Tomb Raider I-III Remastered and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered in 2023.
Crystal Dynamics was not solely dependent on Perfect Dark for work. They were not even the main studio working on the reboot. Unfortunately, we already knew that this could happen. And even more layoffs could be coming in the future.
The Direction Crystal Dynamics Is Going
The studio laid off 17 staff last March 2025. Before that, they laid off nine employees in September 2023.
The 2023 layoffs happened while there were under Embracer. But something else was going on then too.
Crystal Dynamics proceeded to hire more people for the Tomb Raider game that they are currently working on. That game is now being produced by Amazon.
These layoffs could be for people who weren’t going to be needed for the Tomb Raider game. They may continue to layoff and hire people until they become an exclusive Tomb Raider studio.
The studio’s current trajectory is to become a dedicated Tomb Raider studio. At least, that’s in the short term. They can’t take too many risks and try to make new original games in the current market.
On the other hand, Amazon should be a reliable financial backer. They want Tomb Raider to be a strong IP for the games and the spinoff movies and shows they could make.
There’s reason to believe the studio itself will be fine, but it has not been good to see all this talent be set aside by the industry as a whole. We wish the best for the people set to leave Crystal Dynamics and hope they can find placement back in the video game industry.
