Legendary strategy studio responsible for Company of Heroes and Age of Empires 4 goes independent as Sega cuts 240 jobs across 3 developers

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Relic Entertainment is going solo

Best games of 2021 - Age of Empires
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Sega has sold legendary strategy developer Relic Entertainment, and has also laid off 240 developers across three of its studios.

As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, Sega has sold the studio responsible for some of the best strategy games of the last two decades, including Age of Empires 4 and the Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War series. Relic Entertainment isn't being brought out by another parent company - it's actually going entirely independent. 

Relic has left a huge stamp on the real-time strategy scene over a span of decades. From sci-fi juggernaut Homeworld, to the acclaimed Company of Heroes series (which released its third mainline game last year), to Dawn of War and Age of Empires 4, the studio has made its mark on many of the genre's biggest, best, and most-beloved franchises, and it'll be fascinating what it gets up to now that it's going solo.

Elsewhere, Sega is making 240 staff redundant across several of its studios. According to GamesIndustry.biz, the vast majority of staff being made redundant will come from Creative Assembly and Sega Europe. The former was most recently in the news for Sega canceling its co-op shooter Hyenas. 

Additionally, there'll be a "small number" of redundancies at Sega's HARDLight studio, responsible for Sonic Forces and Sonic Dream Team. There's no word of how other Sega-owned studios have been impacted, such as Two Point Campus developer Two Point Studios, which is still owned by Sega.

"Sega is working closely with Relic on this shift, and we wish them the best for the future," said Jurgen Post, Sega of Europe head. "I want to sincerely apologize for the worry and understandable distress this news will cause, particularly for those directly affected. These decisions have been incredibly tough to make, and they follow meticulous consideration and deliberation with leadership teams across the business," Post continued. 

The Sega of Europe head also apologized to affected developers if they hear of their redundancy via a news outlet or social media. This is actually due to Sega having to notify the Tokyo Stock Exchange that it's making redundancies as early as possible, a legal obligation that the company is bound to in Japan.

Take a look at our new games 2024 guide for a look at all the various titles on the horizon. 

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.