Sega revealed today that it has laid off nearly 40 staff members at its Australian studio, as part of a company restructuring that aims to focus on digital releases.
Sega Studios Australia is the development team behind the upcoming official London 2012 Olympic Games video game. In a statement to Kotaku, Sega said that as development on the game nears completion, it must "take steps to ensure long-term growth and success."
The studio has therefore signed a multi-product deal that focuses on releasing games for the digital marketplace -- details on these titles is due to be released in the near future.
However, as part of this "significant transition," the company confirmed that it has let go of 37 staff members.
"The rise of digital gaming provides an opportunity to align the studio with a rapidly growing market at a time when the games industry is undergoing a significant transition," the statement explained.
"To this end, we can confirm that SSA has signed a multi-product deal focussing across the digital marketplace. We have commenced development on these titles and will announce more details in the near future."
It continued, "As part of this focus on digital avenues, there is a requirement to re-structure the studio resources accordingly and regrettably, we are announcing the loss of 37 staff."
"The decision to downsize was not taken lightly but this strategic re-structure will ensure we have a more effective and agile team that will enable us to quickly adapt to consumer needs and deliver strong content across multiple digital platforms. We thank those team members affected for their contributions and wish them well in their future endeavours."
I'm sure the fact that it was a "strategic re-structuring" rather than a sudden impulse will be a huge consolation to the 37 Australian game developers who now find themselves looking for work. My sincere condolences to the people who lost their jobs and I hope they find employment soon.
I'm sure they'll find employment soon enough... just not in Australia.
Damn, I thought that just about every major studio that had existed in Australia was already closed. It's too bad you only find out about the ones that remain when they announce job cuts.
Damn, I thought that just about every major studio that had existed in Australia was already closed. It's too bad you only find out about the ones that remain when they announce job cuts.