Embracer Group’s COO has announced their departure, citing a difficult year.

Egil Strunke, former COO of Embracer Group, has announced his departure and intention to pursue a new mission.

In a LinkedIn post today (November 6), Strunk said he left the company last week with mixed feelings.

“While I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Lars Wingefors and my amazing colleagues (there are too many to mention!), I am also excited about what lies ahead. I will be leaving my current position to start my own company, Strunke Games”.

He explained that Strunke Games’ goal is to “support and be involved in some of the most interesting gaming studios, companies, and projects around the globe as the games industry continues its constant change.”

As mentioned in the LinkedIn post, Strunke worked for eight years at the company in two separate four-year stints. His first stint was between 2011 and 2014, and he returned for his second stint in 2019, which is ongoing. He described his current stint as a “sizzling, acquisitional hotbed” where new entrepreneurs and exciting studios are added regularly.

He wrote: “Growing employees 14x to 16,500 and revenue [eight times] to circa 40 billion SEK [$3.68 billion / £2.97 billion] in four years has been an amazing experience and adventure. Although the last year has been rough, in line with general market changes and industry consolidation, I am positive that Embracer will come out stronger and with a long, bright future ahead of them.”

Over the course of this year, a number of game studios owned by Embracer Group have been affected by layoffs. Among them is Crystal Dynamics, the studio responsible for creating popular titles like Gex and Tomb Raider games such as Rise of the Tomb Raider. Additionally, Volition, the studio behind the Saints Row series, was also shut down in August. The studio explained that this decision was made as part of a restructuring program aimed at strengthening Embracer.