Update: Following the publication of this story an ESL spokesperson gently pushed back on our sources’ claims that a “majority of staff would be laid off” in Burbank, and per its statement (which you can read below in its entity), only a small number of employees would be affected. The remaining employees would be offered relocation to its Ohio offices, or remote work. But our sources say that a large number of Burbank employees already worked remotely and that many employees in Ohio also already do remote work. When asked if ESL would be paying expenses for employees to move to Ohio, a spokesperson for the company declined to comment, noting that the “process is ongoing.”
Original Story: The Esports Advocate has learned that the majority of the staff at the Burbank (California) office of Esports Engine—a subsidiary of ESL FACEIT Group—are currently undergoing layoffs as the company prepares to close the facility.
Insiders report that ESL FACEIT Group leadership sent separate communications on Wednesday: one informing affected employees and another inviting remaining staff to a town hall meeting scheduled for Thursday, where management is expected to provide further details.
While the exact headcount remains unconfirmed, it is estimated that 20 to 30 employees are based in the Burbank office, with most likely to be impacted by the cuts. A small group of employees will remain with the company; however, it is still unclear whether they will be reassigned to Esports Engine’s primary operations in Ohio or continue working in California.
The Burbank facility has played a key role since its inception. These employees were integrated into Esports Engine following its parent company Vindex’s acquisition by ESL FACEIT Group in March 2023, having originally been part of Next Generation Esports prior to the merger on October 31, 2019.
This move comes on the heels of an earlier restructuring. At a town hall meeting in March 2024, ESL FACEIT Group announced a 15% reduction of its global workforce— impacting approximately 250 – 300 employees, sources told TEA at the time—and the closure of several business units, including Dreamhack Sports Games and the Vindex analytics platform. At that meeting, co-CEO Niccolo Maisto noted that roughly 1,200 employees remained post-layoffs.
According to multiple sources, pressure from ESL FACEIT Group’s owners—Savvy Games Group and, ultimately, the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund (PIF)—has driven management to achieve profitability by year’s end. Staff cuts and other cost-saving measures appear to be central to closing the financial gap.
ESL FACEIT Group, wholly owned by the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund’s subsidiary Savvy Games Group, oversees a diverse portfolio of esports operations including tournament organizer ESL, gaming platform FACEIT, festival operator DreamHack, and esports production arm Esports Engine.
It should also be noted that Adam Apicella, who was a co-founder of Esports Engine, joined ESL FACEIT Group in October 2024, though it is unclear just how much input he had in this latest round of layoffs. Apicella left Esports Engine when parent company Vindex was sold to ESL FACEIT Group—the fallout from that deal was chronicled in a feature news story from TEA.
TEA reached out to ESL FACEIT Group prior to the publication of this story; the company issued the following statement:
“As part of EFG’s mission to maintain and grow its position as the world’s leading esports business, it is important that we are constantly evolving and finding ways to enhance the services that we offer our partners. With this in mind, we have decided that by concentrating our focus on establishing one state of the art studio in Columbus, Ohio, rather than spreading the load across two locations, it will enable us to improve the quality and quantity of the work we can deliver. As such, we will be closing down our Burbank studio and moving the team and services to Columbus. Whilst the majority of our employees who are based out of our Burbank studio will transfer to Columbus, either through relocation or remote work, a small number will be leaving EFG. We thank those people greatly for their exceptional work.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Thursday morning with additional comments from ESL FACEIT Group and sources. The audio for this article was also updated.