Major Horsham company says no further job cuts planned after 'challenging year'

Creative Assembly – video game developer behind the multi-million selling Total War franchise and Alien:Isolation – cut more than 100 jobs after it slipped into loss in 2024 following a ‘challenging year.’

But the company, which has its headquarters at Spire Court in Albion Way, Horsham, says it now has no plans for any further job losses. A spokesperson said today (Monday) that the company undertook restructuring which ended in summer 2024 and added: “I can confirm that there is no further restructuring or redundancy plans across Creative Assembly.”

The company, which also has offices in Newcastle and in Bulgaria, prides itself on ‘entertaining millions of players across the globe for decades.’

In the year to 31 March 2024, Creative Assembly slipped to a loss before tax of £3.4m, down from its £10.6m profit which it made in 2023. The group attributed this to its restructuring and redundancies.

However, turnover was less affected, dropping from £153m to £149m. The decrease was due to Creative Assembly's HYENAS project, a planned science-fiction first-person shooter game, being cancelled by SEGA.

The company said its reduction in 2024 release titles were due to Covid impacting development lifecycles and delays to upgraded hardware, particularly with the PS5 Slim and Nintendo Switch 2.

In a statement, the company said: "The past few years have been challenging for numerous areas of the business as we adapt to a changed world post-pandemic.

"In September 2023, the decision was made to no longer fund the development of Creative Assembly's HYENAS project.

"This decision has been incredibly tough to make and follows meticulous consideration and deliberation with leadership teams across the business.

"As a result of this announcement, Creative Assembly reduced its workforce by 245 roles with a proposal to reduce this further in March 2024 by approximately 118 roles.

"The restructuring must happen to future-proof the studio and allow them to refocus on their core franchises going forward.

"Change is necessary to secure the future of our games business; and to ensure that we are well placed to deliver the best possible experiences to our players going forward.

"We need to streamline, focus on what we are good at, and position ourselves as best we can for the road ahead.

"To do that, we need to respond to the changing economic landscape and the challenges we're facing in the way we develop our products and bring them to market."