Layoffs and Closures

The busiest time of the year for the gaming industry has ended and we just started a new quarter, and unfortunately closures and layoffs start rolling out. We have already seen the closure of one of EA Brightlight, but now we have received information that ID software, famous for Wolfenstein, Doom, Quake, and recently Rage, has started laying off some of it's work force. The number of employees made redundant as of today is unknown, but it is apparent that more layoffs will be issued later on this week. Unfortunately Sony also announced yesterday that they have officially shut down one of their UK based development studios, BigBig Studios, renowned for their Pursuit force series, and the PSP adaptation of Motorstorm. According to an SCE spokesperson, the decision for closing this studio is to focus on other exciting project that strategically target today's audience. It is unknown whether the staff was made redundant or transferred to different locations. The gaming industry is becoming harder and harder to survive in, and the first studios to go, are indie developers and small development teams within large publishers. The harsh reality is that after ending such a dense battle between gaming giants just a few weeks ago, we will be seeing much more closures and layoffs.