Square Enix to Make Staff Cuts in American and European Branches

Reports from company insiders indicate that Square Enix will be implementing layoffs in its American and European offices, with a particular focus on IT and publishing departments, including the indie games Collective division.

Square Enix planning layoffs to overseas branches

During an internal meeting, Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu disclosed the upcoming layoffs, as reported by VGC on Monday. While the exact scale of these layoffs remains uncertain, affected employees are expected to receive notifications of termination this week. In the UK, employees are entitled to a one-month consultation period as mandated by law, while American workers may see job losses before June. Following the announcement, the company restricted access to many of its Slack communication channels.

These staff cuts come in parallel with the release of the company’s quarterly financial results, where Square Enix discussed plans for “structural reforms” within its US and UK branches. The company intends to completely reconstruct its overseas business divisions under the leadership of Kiryu, who assumed his role in June 2023. This restructuring is part of a broader organizational overhaul focused on promoting developers to executive roles and reevaluating the authority of producers. Additionally, Square Enix will be moving away from exclusive console agreements for its AAA game titles.

One of the departments affected by the layoffs is the indie game publishing arm, Square Enix Collective. Established in 2014, this division enables independent developers to present their game concepts to the public, with community feedback influencing which projects are approved. Several notable games released through Collective include The Turing Test (2016), Fear Effect Sedna (2015), and PowerWash Simulator (2022). The impact of the layoffs on Collective’s operations remains uncertain, as the company has not communicated any intentions of discontinuing this initiative.