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The Los Angeles offices of Square Enix America have again been hit with an unspecified number of layoffs, reportedly including the CEO and head of marketing. The office house mostly marketing and public relations staff.
An unconfirmed number of people have been laid off by TimeGate Studios, creator of the FPS series Section 8 and, most recently, co-developer of Gearbox's ill-fated Aliens: Colonial Marines. Officially it's part of TimeGate's preparations for "the transition to next-generation consoles and new business models," but rumour says the layoffs come shortly after a publishing deal fell through.
While Valve talks freely about some aspects of its work, the Steam and Half-Life creator is always tight-lipped about business. However, the flurry of speculation, rumour and doomsaying which sprung from news of layoffs at Valve has provoked a statement from head honcho Gabe Newell. Nothing's being cancelled, he says, and no priorities or projects shuffled, but he won't discuss the layoffs.
Reports are beginning to surface that employee-friendly Valve Software is in the process of making "large decision" about the company's future, resulting in the layoff of as many as 25 employees from multiple departments.
English developer Eurocom laid off a whopping 150 staff in November after several console projects fell through. The The maker of 007 Legends and Harry Potter for Kinect brought in administrators to help seek profitability and planned a shift to mobile, but it wasn't enough. Today it made the remaining 42 employees redundant and ceased trading, after 24 years in the business.
007 Legends developer Eurocom has announced that they have laid off more than 150 people, citing a decrease in demand for console games. The studio dropped its staff to under 50 employees to focus on mobile development.
No sooner does Fable: The Journey hit shelves and developer Lionhead Studios is facing staff reductions. Despite the layoffs, Microsoft insists that another 100 people will be hired by June of next year.
En Masse Entertainment, published of the recently released MMO Tera, has announced the layoffs of an unspecified number of employees to "prepare for the next chapter of our business."
EA Montreal has shed a "small number" of employees, due to restructuring to focus on mobile, social, and other digital initiatives.
Obsidian Entertainment, developers of Neverwinter Nights 2, Alpha Protocol, Fallout: New Vegas, and the upcoming South Park game, has been hit with layoffs.
