There were layoffs and rumors of studio closings, but now it's finally confirmed. According to the company website, the San Rafael-based Factor 5 studio has officially closed its doors.
Rumors of the Lair developers closure surfaced in December of last year, following rumors that half of the staff had been let go. The rumors pointed towards the cancellation of their Superman project due to the failure of Brash Entertainment as a major factor in the layoffs and closing, which is backed up by the official statement appearing on the Factor 5 website today.
We are sorry to announce the closure of the San Rafael-based Factor 5 Inc. studio, but the obstacles created by the sudden bankruptcy of Brash Entertainment for the continuation of operations have turned out too great to overcome in the current economic climate.
Note that this development doesn't mean the end to the Factor 5 name. The statement continues:
Factor 5 GmbH, which has been creating games since 1998 with its headquarters in Cologne, Germany, is completely unrelated to Factor 5 Inc. and the circumstances surrounding Factor 5 Inc.'s recent challenges. Although we are saddened by Factor 5 Inc.'s situation, our corporation will remain unaffected by these developments and has partnered with both old and new friends in the industry who will reveal our upcoming projects over the next months.
In other words, that other company had problems, and the German branch of Factor 5 would like to put as much distance between those problems and it as humanly possible.
We extend our sympathy to those left jobless by the studio's closing, even if most of them have hopefully moved on to bigger and better things by now.
Factor 5 Website [Official Site]