{"id":1859606,"date":"2026-04-01T16:20:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T13:20:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1859606"},"modified":"2026-04-01T16:20:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T13:20:25","slug":"eidos-montreals-latest-round-of-layoffs-reportedly-follows-the-cancellation-of-an-almost-complete-open-world-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1859606","title":{"rendered":"Eidos-Montr\u00e9al&#8217;s latest round of layoffs reportedly follows the cancellation of an &#8220;almost complete&#8221; open-world game"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/guardians-of-the-galaxy\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Guardians of the Galaxy<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Eidos-Montr\u00e9al&#8217;s latest round of layoffs reportedly follows the cancellation of an &#8220;almost complete&#8221; open-world game<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">&#8220;The game had been struggling for years.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Guardians-of-the-Galaxy_Lady-Hellbender.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - Lady Hellbender\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Guardians-of-the-Galaxy_Lady-Hellbender.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eidos-Montr\u00e9al<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/fran-j-ruiz-author.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"fran-j-ruiz-author.png\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/fran-ruiz\">Fran Ruiz<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-04-01T16:20:25+00:00\">April 1, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/eidos-montreal-march-2026-layoffs-caused-by-cancellation-of-massive-original-open-world-game?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          1 comment<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"06a520ee-efb9-4bf0-9ab3-dad0f328df8b\" data-name=\"Guardians of the Galaxy\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Guardians of the Galaxy\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Guardians of the Galaxy\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Guardians of the Galaxy\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Guardians of the Galaxy\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Guardians of the Galaxy\" title=\"Follow Guardians of the Galaxy\"><br \/>\n  Follow Guardians of the Galaxy<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Embracer-owned studios <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/tomb-raider-studio-hit-with-fourth-round-of-layoffs-in-12-months-but-remake-and-catalyst-development-continues\">can&#8217;t catch a break<\/a>, and Eidos-Montr\u00e9al has been hit over and over again <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/embracer-groups-eidos-montreal-studio-lays-off-up-to-75-employees\">by layoffs<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/eidos-montreal-cancelled-lord-of-the-rings-game-images-surface\">project cancellations<\/a> for several years now. This week, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/deus-ex-developer-eidos-montreal-announces-mass-job-cuts-alongside-departure-of-studio-head-david-anfossi\">roughly 124 employees were let go<\/a>, with studio head David Anfossi also leaving. It&#8217;s now unclear how the developer&#8217;s future looks like, but we might have learned what happened behind the scenes.<\/p>\n<p>Insider Gaming&#8217;s Tom Henderson <a href=\"https:\/\/insider-gaming.com\/eidos-montreal-wildlands-cancellation\/\">shared on 31st March<\/a> a pretty substantial look into what caused the latest round of layoffs. The main reason seemingly was the cancellation of a big open-world game tentatively titled Wildlands, which &#8220;had been in development since early 2019&#8221; and taken resources away from other projects, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/embracer-cancels-deus-ex-game-in-development-for-two-years\">the cancelled Deus Ex game<\/a> that was reportedly binned in January 2024. As a reminder, <a href=\"https:\/\/insider-gaming.com\/legacy-of-kain-reboot-eidos-montreal\/\">a planned Legacy of Kain reboot had to be axed too<\/a> after Embracer acquired the studio.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - Official Launch Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/S2JEIudLtBI?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/S2JEIudLtBI\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Marvel&#8217;s Guardians of the Galaxy &#8211; Official Launch Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"button video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=S2JEIudLtBI\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figure>\n<p>Though Eidos-Montr\u00e9al has been helping out with the development of Xbox-controlled titles like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/grounded-2\">Grounded 2<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/fable-2024\">Fable<\/a>, the studio was also working on <a href=\"https:\/\/insider-gaming.com\/edios-montreal-aaaa-game\/\">the unannounced &#8220;AAAA&#8221; game<\/a> that was put down recently. The pictured painted by IG&#8217;s report isn&#8217;t a pretty one: &#8220;According to sources, the game had been struggling for years, with 4 different game engines used throughout development, narrative direction conflicts, and a budget that had exploded to several hundred million.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The site has apparently seen in-game footage of the game as well (thanks to anonymous sources). Apparently, it was an open-world third-person action-adventure game starring a character named River, who &#8220;was part of a group of teenagers called Spiritbounds, who could ward off bad spirits with their magical staffs and ride mythical creatures.&#8221; A giant &#8220;mouse-looking&#8221; animal companion could be used to move around the map. The most shocking reveal was that &#8220;the game was almost complete&#8221; and maybe even aiming to release later this year.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Embracer probably went cold on the project and felt like any future investment wouldn\u2019t be recouped,&#8221; Henderson theorised. If true, it&#8217;s yet another frustrating turn of events for a once mighty studio that hasn&#8217;t shipped a game of its own since 2021&#8217;s (in my opinion) underrated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/marvels-guardians-galaxy\">Guardians of the Galaxy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>So what&#8217;s next for Eidos-Montr\u00e9al? Well, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/rumour-has-it-a-new-alien-game-is-on-the-way-and-its-being-described-as-shadow-of-the-tomb-raider-with-xenomorphs\">another IG report from December 2025<\/a> suggested it&#8217;s recently taken on a long-in-the-works Alien action-adventure game, which does sound a great deal safer than a gigantic new IP and, from Embracer&#8217;s perspective, might justify the cancellation of Wildlands and yet another reallocation of resources.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Embracer-owned studios <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/tomb-raider-studio-hit-with-fourth-round-of-layoffs-in-12-months-but-remake-and-catalyst-development-continues\">can&#8217;t catch a break<\/a>, and Eidos-Montr\u00e9al has been hit over and over again <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/embracer-groups-eidos-montreal-studio-lays-off-up-to-75-employees\">by layoffs<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/eidos-montreal-cancelled-lord-of-the-rings-game-images-surface\">project cancellations<\/a> for several years now. This week, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/deus-ex-developer-eidos-montreal-announces-mass-job-cuts-alongside-departure-of-studio-head-david-anfossi\">roughly 124 employees were let go<\/a>, with studio head David Anfossi also leaving. It&#8217;s now unclear how the developer&#8217;s future looks like, but we might have learned what happened behind the scenes.<\/p>\n<p>Insider Gaming&#8217;s Tom Henderson <a href=\"https:\/\/insider-gaming.com\/eidos-montreal-wildlands-cancellation\/\">shared on 31st March<\/a> a pretty substantial look into what caused the latest round of layoffs. The main reason seemingly was the cancellation of a big open-world game tentatively titled Wildlands, which &#8220;had been in development since early 2019&#8221; and taken resources away from other projects, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/embracer-cancels-deus-ex-game-in-development-for-two-years\">the cancelled Deus Ex game<\/a> that was reportedly binned in January 2024. As a reminder, <a href=\"https:\/\/insider-gaming.com\/legacy-of-kain-reboot-eidos-montreal\/\">a planned Legacy of Kain reboot had to be axed too<\/a> after Embracer acquired the studio.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - Official Launch Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/S2JEIudLtBI?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/S2JEIudLtBI\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Marvel&#8217;s Guardians of the Galaxy &#8211; Official Launch Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"button video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=S2JEIudLtBI\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figure>\n<p>Though Eidos-Montr\u00e9al has been helping out with the development of Xbox-controlled titles like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/grounded-2\">Grounded 2<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/fable-2024\">Fable<\/a>, the studio was also working on <a href=\"https:\/\/insider-gaming.com\/edios-montreal-aaaa-game\/\">the unannounced &#8220;AAAA&#8221; game<\/a> that was put down recently. The pictured painted by IG&#8217;s report isn&#8217;t a pretty one: &#8220;According to sources, the game had been struggling for years, with 4 different game engines used throughout development, narrative direction conflicts, and a budget that had exploded to several hundred million.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The site has apparently seen in-game footage of the game as well (thanks to anonymous sources). Apparently, it was an open-world third-person action-adventure game starring a character named River, who &#8220;was part of a group of teenagers called Spiritbounds, who could ward off bad spirits with their magical staffs and ride mythical creatures.&#8221; A giant &#8220;mouse-looking&#8221; animal companion could be used to move around the map. The most shocking reveal was that &#8220;the game was almost complete&#8221; and maybe even aiming to release later this year.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Embracer probably went cold on the project and felt like any future investment wouldn\u2019t be recouped,&#8221; Henderson theorised. If true, it&#8217;s yet another frustrating turn of events for a once mighty studio that hasn&#8217;t shipped a game of its own since 2021&#8217;s (in my opinion) underrated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/marvels-guardians-galaxy\">Guardians of the Galaxy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>So what&#8217;s next for Eidos-Montr\u00e9al? Well, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/rumour-has-it-a-new-alien-game-is-on-the-way-and-its-being-described-as-shadow-of-the-tomb-raider-with-xenomorphs\">another IG report from December 2025<\/a> suggested it&#8217;s recently taken on a long-in-the-works Alien action-adventure game, which does sound a great deal safer than a gigantic new IP and, from Embracer&#8217;s perspective, might justify the cancellation of Wildlands and yet another reallocation of resources.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Guardians of the Galaxy Eidos-Montr\u00e9al&#8217;s latest round of layoffs reportedly follows the cancellation of an &#8220;almost complete&#8221; open-world game &#8220;The game had been struggling for years.&#8221; Image credit: Eidos-Montr\u00e9al News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on April 1, 2026 1 comment Follow Guardians of the Galaxy Embracer-owned studios can&#8217;t catch a break, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1859606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1859606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1859606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1859606\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1859606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1859606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1859606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}