Eidos Montreal
Company
10 documents in the library are about Eidos Montreal, from writers such as Game File, Game World Observer and Embracer Group. Each has a summary and key insights with the page they come from.
Connections
The documents about Eidos Montreal on the inner ring, the other games and companies they name on the outer one. Select a cover to see it up close and open it in a new tab; drag to move, pinch or Ctrl + scroll to zoom.
Key figures from the reports
Embracer Group acquired Square Enix’s Western studio network—including Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal—along with IPs like Tomb Raider and Deus Ex for $300 million.
Hit Points, 2022 · Embracing the Future
Microsoft reportedly paid between $5 million and $10 million to bring Eidos Montreal's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' to the Xbox Game Pass subscription service.
Game World Observer, 2022 · Microsoft Reportedly Paid $5-10 Million to Bring Guardians of the Galaxy to Game Pass
Documents about Eidos Montreal
The Xbox Bloodbath Is Actually Way Bigger Than It Seems
The recent restructuring at Xbox, which includes the divestment of five studios and the cancellation of multiple projects, has resulted in a reported 3,200 job cuts.
- The reported 3,200 job cuts at Xbox represent only a fraction of the total industry impact, as the restructuring triggers significant, uncounted layoffs at external co-development and vendor firms.
- Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced a 50% reduction in vendor spending, which will result in widespread job losses for non-full-time staff who work on Xbox PR, marketing, and IT projects but are not included in official internal layoff figures.
- The cancellation of major projects like 'Perfect Dark' has forced co-development partners, such as Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal, to lay off staff without the ability to publicly disclose their work due to strict non-disclosure agreements.
🚨📢 Breaking News: New Ubisoft Mobile Shooter + Layoffs, Layoffs and Closures
The gaming industry is currently undergoing a significant period of contraction and strategic realignment, characterized by widespread layoffs, studio closures, and the cancellation of long-term, high-budget projects.
- The gaming industry is undergoing a major contraction characterized by widespread layoffs and the cancellation of high-budget projects due to unsustainable North American development costs.
- Eidos Montreal cut 124 jobs and canceled a project that had been in development for over seven years at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.
- Unity is divesting from its game-publishing arm, Supersonic, to pivot toward an ad-tech model focused on AI-driven user acquisition tools.
Back Next Week
This update serves as a brief industry briefing during a scheduled hiatus, providing a snapshot of the current state of the video game sector as of late March 2026.
- The video game industry is experiencing severe instability as of late March 2026, marked by significant layoffs at Eidos Montreal and Polyarc, and the closure of Ivy Road.
- Industry veterans characterize the current economic climate as more severe than the market crash of the 1980s, with few professionals remaining unaffected.
- Nexon is shifting to a conservative investment strategy that prioritizes fewer, high-conviction projects with proven long-term retention and margin potential.
The Outer Worlds 2 developer Obsidian has turned its studio into a real world RPG
Obsidian Entertainment maintains a high-volume release schedule by utilizing a multi-team structure that prioritizes iterative development over the risks of massive, singular-project scaling.
- Obsidian Entertainment utilizes a multi-team structure and strategic co-development partnerships, such as with Eidos Montreal, to maintain a high-volume release schedule while avoiding the risks of singular-project scaling.
- The studio has implemented a unique internal tenure program that gamifies employee loyalty by mapping out a twenty-year career path to preserve institutional knowledge.
- Obsidian is shifting its strategic focus away from sequels for established intellectual properties to prioritize the cultivation of original franchises.
About Grounded 2 and All the People Helping to Make It
Obsidian Entertainment is currently developing Grounded 2, a sequel to its survival-crafting title, which features a map triple the size of the original and introduces rideable insects known as buggies.
- Obsidian Entertainment is developing Grounded 2, a survival-crafting sequel featuring a map three times the size of the original and new mechanics such as rideable insects.
- Grounded 2 will launch in early access on Xbox Series and PC, with Obsidian utilizing the program to gather community feedback for refining core features like rideable buggies.
- Eidos Montreal is co-developing Grounded 2, marking a collaborative effort between the two studios to build upon the community-driven model established by the first game.
Embracer Group Q3 Financial Report: 2022
Embracer Group’s third-quarter financial report for the period ending December 31, 2022, highlights a period of significant expansion driven by acquisitions, alongside a strategic shift toward long-term organic growth through a robust development pipeline.
- Embracer Group reported Q3 net sales of SEK 11.6 billion ($1.12 billion), a 128% year-over-year increase, though organic growth remained negative at -3%.
- The PC/Console segment experienced a 1,554% year-over-year profit decline, driven by a lack of major releases and the poor performance of titles like the Saints Row reboot.
- The company is pivoting toward long-term organic growth by investing SEK 1.6 billion into its internal development pipeline during the quarter.
Embracer Group Annual Financial Report 2022
The Embracer Group fiscal year 2022 financial report highlights a period of significant expansion and robust revenue growth for the Swedish holding company.
- Embracer Group reported SEK 17 billion ($1.7 billion) in net sales for fiscal year 2022, an 89% year-over-year increase driven primarily by a 116% surge in video game operations.
- EBITDA grew by 53.9% year-over-year to reach SEK 6.13 billion ($613 million).
- The company maintains a development pipeline of 223 titles, including a strategic commitment to release over 25 AAA games by March 2026.
Embracing the Future
The acquisition of Square Enix’s Western studio network by Embracer Group represents a significant strategic realignment for both entities.
- Embracer Group acquired Square Enix’s Western studio network—including Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal—along with IPs like Tomb Raider and Deus Ex for $300 million.
- The acquisition adds over 1,000 development staff to Embracer Group, bringing its total headcount to more than 14,000 employees across 124 studios in over 40 countries.
- Square Enix offloaded these studios to reduce costs, viewing the Western division as a high-expenditure operation that consistently underperformed relative to expectations.
Microsoft Reportedly Paid $5-10 Million to Bring Guardians of the Galaxy to Game Pass
The financial dynamics of Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass subscription service remain a subject of industry scrutiny, particularly regarding the acquisition costs for third-party titles.
- Microsoft reportedly paid between $5 million and $10 million to bring Eidos Montreal's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' to the Xbox Game Pass subscription service.
- Industry analyst David Gibson estimates this deal equates to approximately $2 per game, significantly lower than the $29 retail price point at the time.
- The estimate is based on 15 years of coverage of Square Enix data and discussions with industry sources, though Microsoft does not officially disclose Game Pass financial terms.
From Shore to Horizon: Creating a Practical Tessellation Based Solution
Eidos Montreal’s internal research and development division focuses on creating scalable technical solutions that facilitate cross-studio collaboration and enhance visual fidelity across major titles.
- To maintain rasterizer efficiency, the ocean mesh uses tessellation factors that avoid triangles smaller than 16 pixels in screen area, as recommended by AMD GNC architecture guidelines.
- The system utilizes a radial ocean mesh divided into 100-meter by 100-meter patches, which are displaced using vector displacement rather than simple height maps to properly simulate water churn and lateral movement.
- Open water motion is generated by mixing eight Gerstner waves in descending order of frequency, where smaller waves are deformed by larger ones to increase realism and reduce crest pinching.