Funcom is restructuring and laying off staff while concentrating its operations on Conan Exiles and Dune: Awakening, according to a report published on 14 October 2026. The company has not disclosed how many employees are affected. Rui Casais is expected to leave after the restructuring phase, with Chief Product Officer Scott Junior expected to succeed him.
What Funcom announced
The October 14 report describes a narrower operating strategy built around Funcom’s two named live-service priorities: Conan Exiles and Dune: Awakening. Funcom is exiting or deprioritizing other projects as it redirects staff and development resources. The announcement describes layoffs as part of that restructuring, but it does not provide an affected-headcount figure.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
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| 1 |
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Conan Exiles - Day One Edition (PS4) | $27.80 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Maximum Games Conan Exiles - Limited Collector's Edition - PlayStation 4 | $69.97 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Conan Exiles Day One Edition | $59.90 | Buy on Amazon |
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Conan Exiles - Day One Edition PS4 | $49.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Conan: Exiles - PlayStation 4 | $74.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Why Funcom is cutting staff after Dune: Awakening
The move follows a restructuring rationale Funcom outlined in October 2025. The company said Dune: Awakening had shown “incredible potential” and that the right way forward was to focus internal resources on “releasing new content, features, and enhancements.” It also said the shift from development into long-term live operation, alongside work toward a major console release, required teams and resources to be reorganized across projects and studios.
#1 Best Overall
- EXPLORE A VAST WORLD: Explore a giant world, from the burning desert in the south to the snow-capped mountains in the north. Discover ancient cultures, ruins, and dungeons
- SURVIVE: Stay warm, cool yourself down, drink and eat, weather scouring sandstorms, prevent your mind from being corrupted when exploring dark dungeons, and battle vicious monsters to stay alive
- BUILD: Harvest resources to craft tools and weapons, then build anything from a small home to entire cities piece by piece. Build walls, traps, elevators, and more, then deck out your creations with a wide variety of different furniture, crafting stations, and NPC guards
- DOMINATE: Wage war against your enemies, use siege weapons and explosives and see their walls crumble to dust, then unleash your savage fury in violent and brutal combat
- BUILD AN ARMY OF THRALLS: Capture NPCs, drag them back to your base, and use the Wheel of Pain to break their will. Turn them into archers, crafters, entertainers, and more for your settlements
That transition changes the staffing mix. A launch-focused organization may need broad production, content and platform teams; a mature live-service operation generally prioritizes a smaller set of ongoing content, technical support, operations and console-readiness work. Funcom’s 2026 announcement indicates that it is aligning its workforce with those two continuing products rather than maintaining the same number of parallel projects.
How the two priority games fit the new strategy
| Factor | Conan Exiles | Dune: Awakening |
|---|---|---|
| Genre and model | Open-world survival game | Open-world survival game combining survival and MMO elements |
| Development stage | Established live game | Newer live operation moving from development into long-term support |
| Strategic role | One of the two games named as Funcom’s operating focus | One of the two named priorities, with continuing content and feature work |
| Console roadmap | Not stated in the October 2026 report | Funcom previously linked restructuring to preparation for a major console release |
| Update cadence | Not stated in the available announcement | Funcom said resources would target new content, features and enhancements; a specific cadence was not stated |
Funcom’s own games information identifies both titles as current products. The company describes Dune: Awakening as an open-world survival game with MMO elements, while Conan Exiles represents the established survival-game side of the portfolio. The announcement does not provide player numbers, sales figures or review data, so those measures cannot be used to quantify the reason for the layoffs.
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- Includes a 6 inch Conan the Barbarian polyresin figurine, a custom comic book, 3 soundtracks featuring the music from Conan Exiles as well as the music from Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures and Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer, an artbook, a map of the world of Conan Exiles, a code to unlock 6 full-color digital comic books from Dark Horse Comics, a code to unlock the digital rule book created by Modiphius for their Conan pen and paper RPG, and a code to unlock the “Coming of Conan” eBook!
- Dominate the Exiled Lands - Carve out your piece of the Exiled Lands, taking it from other players if you must! Build siege weapons and use explosives to break down the walls of your enemy’s city.
- Survive in a Savage Land - Dress well or light a campfire to stay warm and make sure to cool yourself down in the heat. Hunt, cook, eat, and drink to stay alive. Build a shelter to weather scouring sandstorms.
- Brutal, Bloody Combat - Fight vicious monsters and other players using an action-oriented, combo-based combat system. Dodge, block, and learn to master the true art of combat to become the greatest fighter in the Exiled Lands.
- Play Together or Alone - Play alone locally or fight for survival and dominance in persistent multiplayer on public servers. You can also host your own server and invite others to join you in a world where you have full control of the rules and settings. Want to play with just handful of friends? Try co-op mode!
How many Funcom employees are affected?
No number has been announced in the 14 October 2026 report. Funcom’s official operations information says it has more than 300 people from more than 37 nationalities across four studios: Oslo, Lisbon, Durham and Bucharest. That is a company-wide workforce description, not the size of the layoffs, and it should not be read as an estimate of the jobs at risk.
Funcom’s jobs page currently displays “No open positions right now.” That status signals that the company is not advertising vacancies at present, but it does not identify which teams or locations are affected or indicate whether hiring will resume later.
Rank #3
- Explore a vast world: explore a giant world, from the Burning desert in the south to the snow-capped mountains in the north. Discover ancient cultures, ruins, and dungeons
- Survive: stay warm, cool yourself down, drink and eat, weather scouring sandstorms, prevent your mind from being corrupted when exploring dark dungeons, and battle vicious monsters to stay alive
- Build: harvest resources to craft tools and weapons, then build anything from a Small home to entire cities. Build walls, traps, elevators, and more
- Dominate: wage war against your enemies, use siege weapons and explosives and see their walls crumble to dust, then unleash your savage Fury in violent and brutal combat
- Play together or alone: play alone locally or fight for survival and dominance in persistent multiplayer on public servers. You can also host your own server and invite others to join you
Leadership change: Rui Casais and Scott Junior
Rui Casais is reported to be leaving after the difficult restructuring phase. Scott Junior, Funcom’s Chief Product Officer, is expected to succeed him. The available announcement does not state an exact departure date, severance terms or any other executive changes.
Junior’s expected appointment would place product leadership at the center of the next phase: sustaining Conan Exiles, expanding Dune: Awakening and managing the reduced project slate. It does not, by itself, guarantee a particular release schedule or content plan.
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- Explore a giant world, from the burning desert in the South to the snow-capped mountains in the North
- stay warm, cool yourself down, drink and eat, weather scouring sandstorms, prevent your mind from being corrupted when exploring dark dungeons, and battle vicious monsters to stay alive
- harvest resources to craft tools and weapons, then build anything from a small home to entire cities piece by piece
What happens to Conan Exiles and Dune: Awakening?
Conan Exiles
Conan Exiles is explicitly retained as a core operating priority. The restructuring therefore points to continued support rather than an announced shutdown. Funcom has not supplied a new roadmap, staffing level or update timetable in the October report.
Dune: Awakening
Dune: Awakening is also explicitly retained. Funcom’s earlier statement set the direction around ongoing content, features and enhancements while preparing for a major console release. The 2026 report does not confirm the console launch date, platforms, launch scope or any change to that plan.
Best Value
- Explore a vast world: explore a giant world, from the Burning desert in the south to the snow-capped mountains in the north. Discover ancient cultures, ruins, and dungeons
- Survive: stay warm, cool yourself down, drink and eat, weather scouring sandstorms, prevent your mind from being corrupted when exploring dark dungeons, and battle vicious monsters to stay alive
- Build: harvest resources to craft tools and weapons, then build anything from a Small home to entire cities. Build walls, traps, elevators, and more
- Dominate: wage war against your enemies, use siege weapons and explosives and see their walls crumble to dust, then unleash your savage Fury in violent and brutal combat
- Play together or alone: play alone locally or fight for survival and dominance in persistent multiplayer on public servers. You can also host your own server and invite others to join you
What is known about other Funcom projects?
The report says Funcom is exiting or deprioritizing other projects, but it does not publish a complete project-by-project accounting. Readers should distinguish between a project being deprioritized, paused, cancelled or moved to another team; the announcement does not make those distinctions for each title.
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Quick Recap
What to watch next
- Funcom may disclose the affected headcount, studios or departments in a later filing or employee communication.
- The company’s next updates for Conan Exiles and Dune: Awakening should clarify content plans and production capacity.
- A formal announcement would be needed to confirm when Casais leaves and when Junior becomes chief executive.
- Future platform announcements will show whether the previously mentioned major console release remains on schedule.
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