Christian Svensson Resigns Amidst Capcom US Layoffs

Well here’s a real bit of unfortunate news. Word is out today via Polygon that Capcom US has had to lay off, according to their PR, several employees as the result of internal restructuring. As a part of this process, Capcom’s senior vice president Christian “Sven” Svensson has voluntarily stepped down. Svensson stated in a post:

This departure is not a bad thing for me and it’s happening mostly because I’d suggested it during the early planning for today’s reorg. While I wish the company the best of luck, Capcom is going in a different direction and the need for people at my level, relative to other areas, is lacking.

Svennson had sometimes come off as devises with Mega Man fans, but I was generally keen on him. He was very frank and honest (to the extent his position would allow him to be, anyway), and I think he always did keep the fans’ desires in mind, even if he couldn’t always work with them. I had the rare pleasure of chatting with him at Captivate a couple years back, and our discussion reinforced that image.

As for what this means for Mega Man, well that’s hard to say. He was a big proponent for getting the series running again, and continually assured that “top men” were looking into things. Of course I’m sure there are other voices still in Capcom that will keep the request going. If anything, I worry a little more about what this apparent restructuring means in the long term.

Incidentally, Svensson is pursuing efforts to find work for the others dismissed from Capcom. We certainly wished them the best, and with the talent Capcom generally has I’m sure they’ll find new horizons in short order.

Thanks to Magnet_Man, megamanx827, Fernando and GeminiSparkSP for the tips. Original photo via IGN.

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