Sega has announced it will be cutting a total of 300 jobs as part of a restructuring effort that will allow the publisher to focus on the growth of its online games for PC and smartphone game catalogs.

300 Sega employees will be offered voluntary redundancy, including 120 employees beginning in February. Sega’s North American operations will be downsized and relocated to Southern California by the summer of 2015. Some employees will be offered relocation packages, while others will be laid off.

As for Sega’s US game release schedule, the company says that won’t be affected by the layoffs.

“This move was crucial to keep Sega operations moving forward throughout North America and to provide our millions of fans a strong pipeline of content across gaming, TV, merchandising, and more,” Sega of America president and COO John Cheng said in a statement today. "We are confident that by relocating to Southern California we will be able to thrive, grow and become a stronger company because of it. We are sad to say goodbye to some of the best people in the business and are indebted to them for their hard work and dedication through the years."

Today’s news is certainly a sad one as Sega has been struggling over the past few years with less-than stellar releases. The Sonic Boom games didn’t make the splash Sega would have hoped, although I hear positive things regarding the TV series.