Vancouver-based developer Slant Six has laid off "more than a quarter" of its employees today. The company most recently shipped Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City--a multiplayer third-person shooter that sold well, in spite of mostly negative reviews. Beyond ORC, the developer worked on the SOCOM franchise, working on various PSP iterations of the series, as well as the critically-panned SOCOM: Confrontation.

"Regretfully, we can confirm that there have been some temporary layoffs at our studio," a company rep told Gamespot. "We must stress that these are temporary layoffs, which means we are working very hard on new business prospects so we can reinstate every single person affected. As an independent and close-knit studio it is a very difficult but necessary business measure due to the current project cycle demands."

The company is currently working on two projects, one being a "collaborative game venture with a major publisher." The other is Strata Scavenger, the studio's first self-published downloadable title.

Laid off employees will receive benefits for thirteen weeks. However, if Slant Six is unable to sign another deal, it's unlikely affected developers will be able to return to full employment at the studio.