Funcom CEO Rui Casais out as Dune: Awakening studio cuts staff again

Funcom CEO Rui Casais is leaving. The Norwegian studio behind Dune: Awakening and Conan Exiles announced a restructuring that will include layoffs, with Casais departing once the reorganisation is complete. It is the second round of job cuts in under a year, following a reduction in October of last year, and it comes as the company pivots entirely to supporting its existing survival RPGs rather than developing new ones.

The trigger is the post-launch economics of a hit game. Dune: Awakening was a genuine success at release, selling a million copies in two weeks in June last year and becoming the fastest-selling game in Funcom's history. But player counts dropped substantially in the months after, and the game's PvP elements and faction-based endgame received a mixed response from the community. Last month, Funcom overhauled the game to pivot away from its MMO elements, adding solo play and PvE-exclusive modes - a costly rework that has now forced a leaner organisation.

Casais framed the cuts as a necessary transition. 'Dune: Awakening was the biggest project we have ever undertaken, requiring many years of significant development resources across our studios,' he said in a statement. 'Moving from full production into long-term post-launch development and operations requires a different organisation.' He acknowledged the human toll: '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.'

Funcom did not disclose how many employees are affected. In a press release, the company said restructuring 'begins now' and that it will not share additional details until after the process has concluded 'out of respect for the employees involved.' The lack of a number is itself a signal: the studio is shrinking to match a post-launch reality, not a pre-launch ambition. For context, live-service games typically require a fraction of the headcount needed for full production, so the cut is likely significant.

The strategic retreat goes beyond headcount. Funcom's Chief Creative Officer Joel Bylos told GamesIndustry last month that the studio is 'not ready to start a new game' and that any plans for future projects amounted to 'wispy thoughts in the back of our heads.' That is a striking admission for a company that just shipped its biggest title ever - and a clear sign that the multi-year, capital-intensive development model behind Dune: Awakening will not be repeated soon.

Instead, Funcom is doubling down on what it already has. Conan Exiles, the studio's other survival game, received a substantial upgrade this year, including a new engine, a major paid expansion, and an 'enhanced endowment slider' for fancier player-character genitals. The update underscores a broader strategy: monetize existing players through expansions and live-service features rather than chase new audiences with fresh IP. The company's focus on live-service support is a bet that existing players will keep paying, but it also means Funcom's future is tied to the retention curves of two aging titles.

Leadership will change hands once the restructuring is complete. Scott Junior, Funcom's Chief Product Officer and Executive Producer on Dune: Awakening, will succeed Casais. That choice signals continuity for the studio's flagship, but it also puts the person most responsible for Dune: Awakening's live operations in charge of a company now defined by that game's long-term performance. The transition also raises questions about whether Junior can maintain morale after two rounds of layoffs.

For other studios and executives, Funcom's trajectory is a cautionary tale about the cost of scale. A record-breaking launch can build an organisation sized for peak development, but the transition to live operations is a different business - one that demands fewer people, different skills, and a willingness to let go of the team that got you there. The open question is whether this restructuring goes deep enough to avoid a third round of cuts, or whether the player-count slide continues and forces an even harder reckoning. For studios that have scaled up for a hit, the lesson is to plan for the post-launch trough before the launch euphoria fades.