Esports Engine have laid off 65 staff, The layoffs are not thought to impact upcoming Apex and Warzone LAN events.
Esports production company Esports Engine, has laid off 65 employees. Esports Engine are best known the company responsible for events such as the Apex Legends Global Series and the World of Warzone.
Various employees took to Twitter to announce that they were part of the "mass layoffs" that took place today. A common theme amongst these tweets was the suddenness of the news. Moreover, multiple employees felt blindsided by layoffs. There was seemingly no forewarning that jobs were in danger.
There has been no official statement from Esports Engine at the time of publication. They are also currently still hiring for an event technical director on their website.
Former Esports Engine employees take to Twitter
Various former employees took to Twitter to express their shock, and seek new employment opportunities.
It appears that layoffs even went as deep as staff members who helped found the company. Senior staff members are amongst those left looking for new employment.
Leaked internal memo gives insight into decision making
@Hun2r shared a segment of the email received by the 65 impacted employees. This email gives some extra detail into the reasons behind the layoffs.
This appears to indicate that the layoffs come as a result of struggles in the business.
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Sources suggest layoffs will not impact Apex or Warzone LAN events
Sources with knowledge of the layoffs told esports.gg that the 65 staff mostly work in either the Ohio offices, or the California office. Those laid off from the London office are not directly part of productions.
That London office, based in Stratford, has been busy producing the Apex Legends Global Series. Most recently the ALGS Split 2 Playoffs LAN. This took place at the Copperbox Arena, which is a very short distance from where Esports Engine are based.
Esports Engine will be producing the upcoming World of Warzone LAN at the Copperbox. In addition, they are producing as the ALGS Championship in Birmingham. Both events will take place in September.
Furthermore, sources have confirmed that there there will be no impact on either event as a result of these layoffs. Both events are going ahead as planned.
Layoffs come after ESL acquisition
It is understood that Esports Engine being acquired by ESL FACEIT is a major cause for concern amongst developers. ESL are owned by Savvy Gaming Group, which is owned by the Saudi Arabian Government.
Companies like EA find themselves in a moral dilemma. There is hesitancy that being involved with ESL, as it could be seen as a direct endorsement of the Saudi Arabian Government. Additionally, a lot of companies agreed to work with Esports Engine before the acquisition took place.
There has been long standing criticism of Saudi Arabia's handling of Human Rights. The Saudi Arabian Government has made investment into esports a top priority. Riyadh is currently hosting Gamers8, a multimillion dollar esports event.
Esports Engine ALGS contract up for renewal
Sources tell esports.gg that Esports Engine's ALGS contract is for the third year of ALGS only. This means it will likely be up for renewal after the conclusion of the ALGS Championship in September. Allegedly, EA are currently speaking to potential partners and Esports Engine do not currently lead the way in these discussions.
Instead, those with knowledge of the talks report that EA are in discussion with PGL and those talks are currently going well. PGL formerly hosted the initial years of the ALGS. However, Esports Engine replaced PGL as the ALGS broadcast partner at the start of the current ALGS season.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for more esports news and notes.
