Kotaku: Lay-offs

SOCOM Studio Hit With Layoffs; Sony Calls them Routine

Owen Good — Thu, 19 May 2011 00:27:58 EDT

Scuttlebutt has it that the Sony Computer Entertainment studio Zipper Interactive, maker of combat shooters MAG and the SOCOM series, lost several employees in a round of layoffs today. Reached for comment, a Sony spokesperson confirmed layoffs at Zipper, characterizing them as "normal business practice and a result of cutting back on production resources after the launch of two major franchises." Sony would not specify how many positions were lost. Update: Multiple tipsters have suggested that 33 people were let go. More »

Sony's MMO Studio Confirms Massive Layoffs, Closes The Book On The Agency

Mike Fahey — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 14:30:00 EDT

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Yesterday's rumors have proven true, as Sony Online Entertainment confirms 205 cut positions, the closure of three studio locations, and puts the final bullet in the head of massively multiplayer online spy game The Agency. More »

Ex LucasArts, Budcat Staffers To Also Have A Lousy Christmas [Update]

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 16:40:00 EST

Bizarre Creations isn't the only video game developer dealing with hard times right now. Two more developers appear to have been affected by holiday layoffs, including Star Wars game dev LucasArts and Guitar Hero studio Budcat Creations. More »

Bizarre Devs Took a Chance, May Get Closed

Mike Fahey — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:00:00 EST

Three years after purchasing the developer behind Project Gotham Racing and Geometry Wars, Activision appears to be in the process of deciding how to ditch the studio. More »

Kane & Lynch, Hitman Dev Going Through Its Own Dog Days

Michael McWhertor — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EDT

The holiday hits keep coming. IO Interactive, the Danish studio behind Hitman and Kane & Lynch, let go about 30 employees this week, according to sources close to the studio. More »

Annual EA Layoffs Hit NBA, Skate Teams Hardest, Sources Say

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 20:30:00 EDT

EA has issued its latest round off layoffs today, describing them as "season roll-offs," which sounds much more pleasant. According to sources claiming knowledge of the situation, EA Canada, developer of Skate and NBA Elite, bore the brunt of those cuts. More »

Tony Hawk Developer Robomodo Struck By Layoffs

Mike Fahey — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 17:30:00 EDT

A mere two weeks before the release of its second game, Tony Hawk: Shred developer Robomodo is hit by layoffs, with sources reporting 30 to 60 jobs being cut due to the loss of the Tony Hawk franchise. More »

How Many People Are Playing APB?

Mike Fahey — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:40:00 EDT

Scottish developer Realtime Worlds recently entered administration, and it's rolling out play and pay stats for the recently released All-Points Bulletin to sweeten the pot for potential buyers. Who's playing, and what are they paying? More »

Sony Online Better Aligns 35 Employees Out of Work

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:40:00 EDT

The maker of massively multiplayer online games Star Wars Galaxies and Everquest is making cuts this week, eliminating "just over 4% of its full-time workforce," Sony Online Entertainment reps tell Kotaku. More »

Rumor: Rockstar Lays Off 40 From Red Dead Redemption Studio [Update]

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:00:00 EDT

Red Dead Redemption is a commercial and critical success, moving more than 1.5 million copies in its first month while wrangling rock-solid reviews. Despite that, Rockstar has axed about 40 employees from the San Diego studio, according to sources close to the developer. More »

Seventy-Three Sega Employees Restructured Out Of Their Jobs

Mike Fahey — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 17:40:00 EDT

Staff cuts have struck Sega London and San Francisco today, as an email from Corporate Operations Officer Masanao Maeda informs employees of the termination of a combined 73 positions between the two locations. More »

Activision Takes Axe To Guitar Hero's Neversoft, Shuts Down Luxoflux

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:20:00 EST

Prototype developer Radical Entertainment isn't the only studio that got the axe from parent company Activision today. Sources close to and within developers Neversoft (Guitar Hero) and Luxoflux (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) are also being gutted. More »

North American Game Industry Employment Somehow Rose Slightly In 2009

Mike Fahey — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:20:00 EST

According to the third annual Game Developer Census, game industry employment in North America has risen slightly in 2009, due in part to new Canadian studios and a rise in social and online gaming developers. More »

EA Cuts Loose Bottom Third Of Its Game Lineup

Mike Fahey — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:20:00 EST

During a conference call regarding the company's 2nd quarter financial results, EA's John Schappert revealed that more than a dozen unannounced EA titles had been cut from production as part of its cost reduction plan. More »

EA Cutting 1500 Jobs To Reduce Costs

Mike Fahey — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:30:00 EST

Lending credence to the rumors of massive layoffs, EA details a "cost reduction plan" in its 2nd quarter financial results press release that will result in the termination of 1,500 employees. More »

Rumor: EA Guts Workforce After Big Playfish Buyout

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:30:23 EST

Electronic Arts has taken the ax to hundreds of employees at locations in Burnaby, Orlando and San Francisco today, according to chatter from former EA employees, issuing layoffs the same day it confirms a buyout of social gaming publisher Playfish. More »

Romero's Slipgate Ironworks Hammered Down, MMO Project Still On

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:20:37 EDT

Slipgate Ironworks, the game development company founded by ex-id Software, ex-Ion Storm designer John Romero, has been pared down by parent company Gazillion, Kotaku has learned, with the start up's unnamed MMO still in development with a "smaller core team." More »

Maxis Layoffs Include Outspoken Spore Dev Chris Hecker

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:40:00 EDT

Electronic Arts' recent attempt to "focus" Spore developer Maxis—which was a nicer way of saying some people got laid off—includes one of its more rant-ready folks, Chris Hecker, a Technology Fellow at the company. Remember him? More »

Six Days In Fallujah Causes Casualties At Atomic Games

Mike Fahey — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:50:00 EDT

Atomic Games, the developer behind Six Days in Fallujah, have been forced to cut their development staff due to a lack of funding for the controversial game. More »

Layoffs Hit Sony Online Entertainment

Mike Fahey — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:20:00 EDT

Despite the runaway success of Free Realms and the growing anticipation for DC Universe Online, Sony Online Entertainment feels the layoff lash, confirming a 5% workforce reduction with Kotaku. More »

Rumor: Mass Layoffs Hit Bionic Commando Developer GRIN

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 27 May 2009 19:40:00 EDT

Sweden-based developer GRIN is said to be the latest game studio hit by cutbacks, as multiple sources have told Kotaku that the Bionic Commando and Terminator: Salvation dev has laid off more than 100 staffers. More »

THQ Cuts Down Big Huge Games, Lets Go Two More

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:20:34 EDT

Publisher THQ announced in February that it would be cutting back substantially, axing jobs and shuttering studios after losing $191.8 million last quarter. Today, we learn that developer Big Huge Games is due to close. More »

Update: Layoffs Hit Disney Interactive, Turok Sequel Canceled

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:40:00 EST

Disney is the latest in a long list of companies planning to pare down its workforce, with cuts and consolidations affecting Disney Interactive Studios. Layoffs are said to have already hit Turok developer Propaganda. More »

Nexon Shutters Vancouver Development Studio

Mike Fahey — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:40:00 EST

Thanks to numerous tips, Kotaku has now confirmed with staff at Nexon America that the company's Vancouver-based development studio has shuttered its doors today, leaving upwards of 90 employees looking for jobs. More »

Rumor: SEGA of America Starts Scaling Back, Lays Off Thirty

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:20:09 EST

IGN is reporting today that SEGA is the latest publisher to start cutting costs, laying off 30 employees from its American subsidiary. No word on where exactly the cuts are coming from, however. More »

Microsoft Planning "Significant" Cuts, Source Says Layoff Reports "Exaggerated"

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:40:03 EST

Xbox 360 manufacturer Microsoft is reported to be jumping on the cost-cutting bandwagon, according to reports from CNBC. Said to be pursuing "significant" savings measures, spokespeople say that reports of mass layoffs are greatly exaggerated. More »

Free Radical Cuts 140 Jobs, Up For Sale

Mike Fahey — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST

The rumors of TimeSplitters developer Free Radical's demise were a bit premature, but things aren't at all good, as the developer drops over 75% of their workforce and puts the remnants up for sale. More »

EA Reducing Work Force By 1,000, Closing 9 Locations

Mike Fahey — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST

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Rumor: Factor 5 Sacks Half Its Staff

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:00:19 EST

Lair developer Factor 5 was hit with layoffs today, cutting its staff in half after letting go a reported thirty-seven employees. Edge cites a "well placed source" who confirms the developer's recently publicized money woes. More »

Funcom Cuts Staff In The Name Of Efficiency

Mike Fahey — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

Following rumors on Friday regarding the termination of a large chunk of their U.S. workforce, Age of Conan developer Funcom has confirned that sacrificies had indeed been made. More »

Avalanche's Lost Contracts Claim 77 Jobs

Mike Fahey — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:20:00 EDT

Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios is having to trim their staff by 77 people in the face of two lost publishing contracts over the past year, worth an estimated $34 million. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Avalanche CEO Christofer Sundberg explains how the layoffs came about. More »

Rumor: LucasArts to Halt All Internal Development

Owen Good — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 21:30:00 EDT

Shacknews is reporting, via "a reliable source," that once Star Wars: The Force Unleashed drops in mid-September, LucasArts will pinkslip another 100 employees and quit internal development. More »

Turner's GameTap Shutters Editorial, Boots Staff

Leigh Alexander — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:30:00 EDT

GameTap, the on-demand game portal owned by Turner Broadcasting, is closing the books on its editorial division to focus solely on games, according to a community post by content vice president Ricardo Sanchez. More »

Eidos Cutbacks Shut Down Full Auto Developer

ogood — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Full Auto developer Pseudo Interactive has ceased operations, 1UP reports. Apparently cutbacks by Eidos and its parent company are the proximate cause. More »

SCi Kills 14 Projects, Cutting 25 Percent of Staff

Brian Crecente — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 09:53:05 EST

SCi, developers of Tomb Raider, Hitman and Deus Ex, have canceled 14 of their projects and plan on laying off 200 people and cutting their annual operating costs by £14 million as part of a company restructuring plan meant to get SCi back on track. More »

Hudson: Happy Holidays, You're Fired

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:40:00 EST

Sources close to Hudson Entertainment have contacted Next-Gen and Kotaku today, writing that the company "just laid off half its company staff." According to both sources, it's Hudson's mobile division that saw the most bloodletting, a division that has "just been having a lot of trouble getting their games onto big carriers like Verizon and Cingular." More »

EA Layoffs Confirmed As "Somewhat Routine"

Mark Wilson — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 18:00:28 EDT

Destructoid recently got their hands on an email from Mythic VP Rob Denton in which he explained that there would be restructuring within EA's Mythic and their Redwood Shores studio. It specifically stated that:

...every studio, group and division of the company has been tasked to review its overall headcount and adjust its organization to meet the needs of the business moving forward.

We got in touch with an EA spokesperson on the matter and here was what they had to say on the matter: More »

Rumor: Take Two Europe Redundancies

Kim Phu — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 12:40:00 EDT

Hot off the heels of the US and Europe Sony lay-offs, Take Two Interactive (owners of the subsidiaries Rockstar, 2k, and many others) may also see senior redundancies all over its Europe companies. Offices in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Australia, and the Netherlands could be affected by the recent restructuring of the Take 2 Board caused the ousting of CEO Paul Eibeler and other directors. Shareholders earlier this year had revealed plans to make changes in order to revive the struggling game publisher's business. More »

Vicarious Visions Blindsided By Closure

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 19:40:24 EDT

Gamasutra is reporting that Vicarious Visions' California location has been shuttered by publisher Activision, laying off many, possibly all, of its employees. The team was responsible for the Wii, DS, Game Boy Advance and PlayStation 2 versions of Spider-Man 3, most recently. Reaction to those titles was mixed, with some critics calling it "lackluster" while others felt it was "crummy." More »

Lay-Offs Hit SCEA HQ Today

Brian Crecente — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 00:09:39 EDT

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