Funcom to cut jobs as CEO Rui Casais leaves after 22 years

Funcom is restructuring, preparing for layoffs and changing its chief executive as Dune: Awakening moves out of major development.

Chief executive Rui Casais is leaving after 22 years with the company, including 11 years as its leader. He will be replaced by Scott Junior, who has spent 25 years at Funcom and steered Dune: Awakening to market as executive producer, according to details reported by Eurogamer.

The company said the change follows the end of heavy development work on Dune: Awakening. The game is now in live service operation. That means the focus shifts from building the launch version to running it, with updates, fixes and new content released over time.

That shift comes weeks after the next step for the game. Console versions were released on 22 September with a new single-player mode. Funcom had also announced that 1 million "new survivors" had joined Dune: Awakening.

Funcom said restructuring will mean reducing the size of the organisation and saying goodbye to colleagues. The process is beginning now. It did not put a figure on roles affected in the latest announcement.

For players, this means attention narrows to what is already live. Funcom said it remains committed to supporting, expanding and growing Dune: Awakening and Conan Exiles for years to come. A separate report from GamesIndustry.biz said the company will focus solely on live operations for those two titles.

What makes this stand out is the timing. It is the second round of cuts in about a year. The earlier layoffs came months after the initial PC release of Dune: Awakening.

No further detail has been given on teams, locations or dates for departures. The company says it has been making games for 30 years, according to Funcom.