SEGA cancels multiple games including live-service shooter HYENAS ahead of launch

SEGA has announced an internal restructuring to better align with recent economic conditions across regions, especially Europe. The announcement has led to not just changes to operations within their European headquarters but also various games in development. This also includes the live service first-person multiplayer shooter HYENAS.

So, is this a good or a bad thing? Here's everything players need to know about all changes made by SEGA.

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The decision to restructure and cancel projects by SEGA comes following decreasing profits in the European region

The official financial statement mentions the following:

"...The business environment surrounding the consumer sector, especially in Europe, is rapidly changing, including a decline in demand from people staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic and a worsening economic environment due to inflation, etc., and profitability is on the decline."

Simply put, the Japanese gaming company seems to have not been receiving as much profit as they hoped from the European region. As such, they will be implementing these changes to cut down on expenses and recoup costs. This means the cancellation of various video game projects that are currently in development at their studios.

While the specifics are unknown, the one game that was name-dropped is HYENAS. Announced last year, it was an upcoming multiplayer shooter from Creative Assembly. The British studio is known for making entries in the Total War series, and they also created the acclaimed survival horror game Alien Isolation.

The FPS game was slated for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S platforms. It followed two-player teams fighting each other, armed with unique gadgets, power-ups, and weapons. The vibrant art style also stood out, with a visually loud aesthetic for the characters too.

Admittedly, the game did not have much fanfare following its reveal. Even with the official gameplay trailer, much of the audience was baffled as to what audience HYENAS was catering to. So, the cancellation of this project will likely be forgotten soon. It makes one wonder what other projects have been canned by SEGA as well, but we may not find out anytime soon.

Despite a loss projection of approximately 14.3 billion Yen for the fiscal year leading up to March 2024, SEGA will continue to launch new projects and IPs in their video game sector. Conversely, their amusement park, resort, pachinko businesses, and other similar business ventures are reported to be stable and profitable.