Funcom has begun a restructuring that will reduce the size of the company as the Norwegian developer narrows its focus to live operations for Conan Exiles and Dune: Awakening. The company has not said how many staff are affected.
CEO Rui Casais, who has led Funcom for 11 years, including through its 2020 acquisition by Tencent, will leave at the end of the year. Chief product officer Scott Junior, who has been with the company for 25 years and most recently served as executive producer on Dune: Awakening, will succeed him, GamesIndustry.biz reports.
Moving from full production into long-term post-launch development and operations requires a different organization. While we would have wanted everyone who helped build Dune: Awakening to continue with us, we cannot sustain the size and structure required during peak development as we move into this next phase.
In its press release, Funcom said the process "begins now" and that, out of respect for the employees involved, it will not share further details until it has concluded. The company said it remains committed to supporting and expanding both games, and that it will continue to build on the recently released Enhanced edition of Conan Exiles.
Junior said his focus will be on organizing Funcom so it can expand the two games "for many years to come" through new content and gameplay.
The cuts follow layoffs in October 2025 after the launch of Dune: Awakening, which Funcom described as the biggest launch in its 32-year history. That round included the closure of The Outsiders, the Swedish developer of Metal: Hellsinger that Funcom acquired in 2021. GamesIndustry.biz notes that Tencent has divested several businesses over the past 18 months, including Secret Mode, Splash Damage and Bulkhead.
