The iconic esports organization Ninjas in Pyjamas is cutting its final ties to Sweden. According to new reports from the Swedish newspaper Expressen.se, NIP has issued notices of dismissal to its entire Swedish workforce. But when management tried to relocate the Counter-Strike team to the Middle East, the players put their foot down.
Ninjas in Pyjamas has historically been synonymous with Swedish Counter-Strike. From the legendary 87-0 era with f0rest and GeT_RiGhT to their modern iterations, NIP has always been the ultimate standard-bearer for Swedish CS. Now, that era is coming to an abrupt end.
According to a bombshell report from the Swedish newspaper Expressen, NIP has given notice of dismissal to all its employees in Sweden. The organization, which already maintains its global headquarters in Abu Dhabi, is reportedly planning to run its entire operational business from the United Arab Emirates.
The driving force behind this shift? A highly lucrative five-year agreement with the UAE government, reportedly worth up to 440 million SEK (roughly $41 million USD). On top of this, sources told Expressen that the management’s massive investments in Bitcoin are demanding increasing resources and taking center stage in the company’s overarching strategy.
The CS team’s categorical “No”
For the Counter-Strike community, one specific detail in the report stands out: NIP management reportedly tried to convince their CS roster to pack their bags and relocate to Abu Dhabi.
The players, however, gave management a categorical “no.” Anyone who understands top-tier Counter-Strike knows exactly why: the pracc environment. Moving away from Europe – the absolute epicenter of Tier-1 CS, prime Faceit servers, and high-quality scrims – to the Middle East would have been a death sentence for the team’s development and competitive viability.
Reduced to a bootcamp facility?
In a statement to Expressen, NIP Group CEO Hicham Chahine said the organization is “currently reviewing parts of our operational structure” and noted that “no final decisions have been made.”
However, internal emails sent to employees paint a much clearer picture. The communications reveal that the organization is considering shifting all core operations to the Abu Dhabi HQ, leaving the historic Stockholm office as little more than a European bootcamp facility for the team ahead of major tournaments.
Union negotiations are now set to begin in Sweden. Whatever the outcome, one thing is certain: the Ninjas are leaving their Swedish roots behind.
