Eidos Montréal has confirmed a new round of layoffs affecting 124 employees, marking another difficult moment for the studio as its parent company, Embracer Group, continues its restructuring efforts. The cuts also coincide with the departure of long-time Studio Head David Anfossi, signaling further changes within the organization’s leadership structure.
Shortly after reports of the layoffs surfaced, journalist Jason Schreier indicated the decision was connected to the cancellation of an unannounced project. Additional details were later shared by Insider Gaming, with insider Tom Henderson providing background on the title, which had been in development for several years under the codename Wildlands.
The project reportedly began production in 2019, before the global pandemic disrupted development schedules across the industry. Over time, the game underwent multiple internal changes, including four transitions to different game engines and disagreements over narrative direction. These complications extended development timelines and significantly increased overall costs, with estimates suggesting the project had already consumed hundreds of millions of dollars in funding.
According to Henderson:
Wildlands had progressed into its debugging phase and was approaching completion before the cancellation decision was made. Sources suggest the final call came from Embracer Group leadership rather than the Montreal-based development team. The project was described as a third-person, open-world action-adventure game featuring a protagonist named River, part of a group of teenagers known as the Spiritbounds. The characters reportedly possessed magical abilities that allowed them to combat supernatural enemies while traveling across the game world on mythical creatures. River’s main companion was a large moose-like creature named Redheart, used for traversing the environment.
The cancellation adds to a growing list of halted projects at Eidos Montréal, including reported cancellations linked to the Deus Ex and Legacy of Kain franchises, as well as a modern point-and-click concept featuring turn-based combat mechanics. The studio’s most recent major release remains Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, which launched in October 2021 and received positive feedback but did not meet sales expectations.
Eidos Montréal also contributed support work on the upcoming Fable project led by Playground Games, although reports indicate that involvement ended more than a year ago. The latest developments highlight ongoing adjustments across large publishers as rising budgets and longer production timelines continue to affect project viability across the industry.
