The 2009 Game Studio body count thread

noname2200

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noname2200 on 04 January 2010

This list was compiled by a user on Penny Arcade, so all credit to him.

http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showpost.php?p=13038018&postcount=1677

JANUARY

- Jaleco closes (IP and $7.736m/$17.68m loan sold to Game Yarou for $0.01)
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=21930

- MS ACES (Flight Simulator team gone)
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=21981
- MS cuts 30% of testers at MGS + unspecified GFW team
http://kotaku.com/5138389/more-micro...-windows-group

- Sega cuts 30 in San Francisco
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=21942

- Eidos cuts 30 people at Crystal Dynamics
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=21809

- Eidos closes Rockpool Games (Manchester) [mobile]
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...chester-studio

- Seta Corp (Super Entertainment & Total Amusement) closed
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=21943

- EA to cut 10% of staff and 9 studios consolidated/closed by March
---- unspecifed # @ Tiburon (Madden and Tiger Woods divisions confirmed hit)
---- Blackbox (200 out of 350 jobs cut, remainder absorbed into EA Burnaby [Vancouver])
---- 21 customer service, half of QA, all of playtest group @ Mythic

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=21974
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=21931

- unspecified cuts at Sony and MS (kotaku sez bulk of the current 1400 cut from MS are from Entertainment & Devices)

Nexon closes Humanature studio (Vancouver) 90 Jobs lost
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...anature-studio

Unspecified layoffs at Kuju in US and UK
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...across-studios

Ensemble closes
http://www.ensemblestudios.com/blogs...nd-thanks.aspx

Disney Interactive Studios layoff ~70 at Propoganda, confirms plans to "consolidate a handful of its studios, including Avalanche Software and the Fall Line studio."
http://blog.wired.com/games/2009/01/...unced-tur.html

FEBRUARY

Brighter Minds (World of Goo) goes Bankrupt
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-goes-bankrupt

THQ Mobile shuts down in San Diego, Germany and UK (~100 jobs)
http://blog.wired.com/games/2009/02/...be-bomber.html

Action Pants (British-Columbia) acquired by Ubisoft
http://kotaku.com/5145390/ubisoft-acquires-action-pants

Free Radical acquired by Crytek
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=22156

EA to close 12 facilities + 1100 jobs
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...g-USD641m-loss

Snowblind Studios acquired by Warner Bros
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=22178

Eidos drops casual studio (Gimme5games)
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...l-games-studio

Sega cuts 18% of workforce (560 jobs)
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=22239

NCSoft cuts 55 at NC West (Europe)
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...uropean-office

Midway files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
http://www.midway.com/us/pr/mpr_5591.html

Rare cuts artist and engineer positions (12 known)
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...neer-positions

Popcap acquires Gastronaut Studios
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...es-xbla-studio

Fillpoint acquires Crave Entertainment and SVG Distribution
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-crave-and-svg

MARCH

THQ cuts majority of Volition's (Saint's Row) QA staff - 86 of 102
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=22562

THQ to sell or close Big HUge Games, Heavy Iron and Incinerator becoming independent.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...r-close-studio

Namco to buy all branches of D3 publisher, including studio Vicious Cycle
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-d3p-businesse

APRIL

THQ confirms unspecified layoffs at BigHugeGames, still looking for sale
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...big-huge-games

MAY

3D Realms closes
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...s-closes-doors

Microsoft Game Studios acquires BigPark
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...cquire-bigpark

38 Studios acquires BigHugeGames from THQ
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...big-huge-games

Grin Studios cuts 160 people
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthre...?f=59&t=768094

Factor 5 closes
http://www.edge-online.com/news/lair...actor-5-closes

JUNE

Management Buy-Out/Closure of Chemistry (Kuju)
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...emistry-studio

Deadline Games (Watchman Game) files for bankruptcy
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...for-bankruptcy

Crystal Dynamics cuts 25 more people
http://gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=23989

Midway San Diego and Newcastle face closure by end of June.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...by-end-of-june

America's Army studio closes
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...o-closes-doors

Rockstar lays of 10% of New England staff
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...d-staff-report

ZeniMax (owner of Bethsoft) acquires id Software
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...es-id-software

JULY

Heavy Hammer lays off Blue Omega team
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...damnation-team

Sony Online Entertainment lays off 5% of staff
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=24483

Midway Closes Chicago Corporate Headquarters and Newcastle Studio
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...rporate-office
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...studio-closure

AUGUST

Grin shuts down
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ompany-closure

THQ Buys Midway San Diego
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...n-diego-studio

EA cuts back staff at Maxis
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...staff-at-maxis

Raven lays off 30-35
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...of-wolfenstein

SEPTEMBER

Bottlerocket closes
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...oses-its-doors

Disney acquires Wideload Games
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-to-games-team

Funcom to cut 20% of workforce
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...t-of-workforce

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

Square-Enix/Taito/Eidos cuts 10% globally
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...und-10-percent

EA Acquires Playfish
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...sh-acquisition

EA to layoff 1,500 by April 2010, including "several studio closures"
Tiburon, Blackbox, Redwood Shores, Mythic reportedly affected
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=25999

Playdom acquires Green Path and Trippert Labs
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-trippert-labs

Pandemic closes
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-studios-today

Krome faces unspecified number of layoffs
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...e-studio-krome

DECEMBER

Fuzzeyes lays off majority of staff
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ority-of-staff

Threewave studio enters reorganization
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...nisation-phase

Rumor: Apsyr cuts staff by over 50%
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ver-50-percent

SCEA drops 30 QA jobs
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...dates-qa-group

Paradox Interactive acquires AGEOD
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...eveloper-ageod

Oberon Media lays off 100
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-off-100-staff

For the record, 2009 had the second-highest revenue in any year.

Squilliam

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Squilliam on 04 January 2010

Ouch, just a small correction I believe almost all the Rare guys fired were re-hired by Rare.

Tease.

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Mummelmann on 04 January 2010

Apart from Ensemble I don't see anyone losing that didn't have it coming in some way or another. Such is the nature of business and this happens to all industries, only we care more about this one than most others.

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famousringo on 04 January 2010

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nitekrawler1285 on 04 January 2010

Sometimes i wonder if the things we argue about are really that big or if they simply have more media coverage with the interwebz.

I would love to see numbers for each year so that I can better understand this trend. See if it is a new thing or something thats been happening for a while now. My awareness is larger than it ever was and is that the reason why it seems that so many studios are closing or is it simply that i care about said information and didn't or didn't have access to it before?

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amp316 on 04 January 2010

This is the way that things have been going with all jobs in all walks of like recently.

This unfortunate but true.

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"There are like ten games a year that sell over a million units." High Voltage CEO - Eric Nofsinger

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noname2200 on 04 January 2010

amp316 said:
This is the way that things have been going with all jobs in all walks of like recently.

This unfortunate but true.

But not in areas which are seeing record revenue.

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dsister44 on 04 January 2010

Squilliam said:
Ouch, just a small correction I believe almost all the Rare guys fired were re-hired by Rare.

Not all of them, but some of them did

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Avinash_Tyagi on 04 January 2010

noname2200 said:

amp316 said:
This is the way that things have been going with all jobs in all walks of like recently.

This unfortunate but true.

But not in areas which are seeing record revenue.

Revenue is not profit

Predictions:Sales of Wii Fit will surpass the combined sales of the Grand Theft Auto franchiseLifetime sales of Wii will surpass the combined sales of the entire Playstation family of consoles by 12/31/2015 Wii hardware sales will surpass the total hardware sales of the PS2 by 12/31/2010 Wii will have 50% marketshare or more by the end of 2008 (I was wrong!! It was a little over 48% only)Wii will surpass 45 Million in lifetime sales by the end of 2008 (I was wrong!! Nintendo Financials showed it fell slightly short of 45 million shipped by end of 2008)Wii will surpass 80 Million in lifetime sales by the end of 2009 (I was wrong!! Wii didn't even get to 70 Million)

noname2200

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