elnino334 on 07 April 2008
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9856&Itemid=59
By Kris Graft
Eidos-owned Full Auto developer Pseudo Interactive fell victim to its parent's hardships, and has "ceased operations," according to a report on consumer site 1Up.The demise of the Toronto-based studio is said to be attributed primarily to Eidos and parent SCi's massive restructuring plan, which involved the company killing off 14 projects and laying off 25 percent of its workforce. One of Pseudo's games was canned as part of the restructuring, 1Up reported.
Another developer, Castaway Entertainment, has suspended operations amidst a tough US economy, GameSpot reports.
"If somebody came in tomorrow and said, 'Here's a whole bunch of money. Can you get back up and running,' then Monday we could be back up and running," president Michael Scandizzo told the website. "But a couple of weeks from now, as we slowly wind down, there will be a point by which we will not be able to get back up and running."
Castaway was founded in 2003 by ex-Blizzard developers, and has only released one game--Yaris, the free advergame on Xbox Live. But it revealed that it was working on a promising Diablo-style game called Djinn for the past five years.
"It would have to be soon, but if anyone wanted to come in and save us, we'd give the whole kitchen sink to them on the extremely cheap," Scandizzo added. "Otherwise after almost 10 years of this group working together, we're going to have to dissolve."
The news follows Stormfront Studio's confirmation last week that it had laid off "virtually everybody" with no severance, and has "suspended operations."
Other developers that recently hit hardships include Titan Quest Iron Lore and Star Trek Online developer Perpetual Entertainment.
