Sega's Shooter Hyenas Canceled, Other Games Canned As Well As Part Of Restructuring

Sega has announced a restructuring that includes the cancellation of Creative Assembly's shooter Hyenas and other projects within the wider Sega organization. Sega Sammy, the parent company, said this restructuring is mainly taking part within the company's European divisions. As a result of the effort, Sega plans to take a loss for the current fiscal year.

In a statement, Sega said "the environment surrounding the consumer area has been rapidly changing, including reactionary decline from the stay-at-home demand in COVID-19 and the economic downturn due to inflation in European region, and profitability has been lowered mainly in European bases."

In response to this, Sega said it is taking steps to "implement structural reforms aimed at increasing efficiency," mainly in Europe.

Creative Assembly's Hyenas, which was nearing release, has been canceled, and other unannounced titles have been cut as well. "Accordingly, we will implement a write-down of work-in-progress for titles under development," Sega said.

Hyena's was previously described by Sega management as being a "challenging" title. A closed beta for the game was held at the end of August this year.

According to a source speaking to IGN, the Creative Assembly team working on Hyenas were informed of the cancellation today alongside the statement from Sega. Staff working on the game said there was concern the game might not perform well but the cancellation's timing being relatively close to release caught some by surprise, IGN reported.

The entire team working on Hyenas is facing closure, IGN reported, adding that there will be other cuts across the wider team at Creative Assembly. The studio is best known for the Total War series, and the newest entry, Total War: Pharaoh, releases in October.

Hyenas was described as a hero-based multiplayer extraction shooter. Players would have taken on the role of a "Hyena," and then team up with others to steal merch against four other teams.

Senior brand manager David Burroughs shared a photo of the team going out for drinks after the news of Hyenas' cancellation was announced.

Sega added that it will work to reduce fixed expenses at "several group companies" in Europe, "centered on" Creative Assembly. Some of Sega's other European studios include Relic, Two Point Studios, Amplitude Studios, and Hardlight.

While Sega's video game business is going through a tough time for its European operations, the company said its slot machine business "continues to perform well." However, due to the structural reform, Sega expects to record a loss of 14.3 billion yen ($95.8 million) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.