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Rough Times At Codemasters
Rumors have been swirling around that troubled UK-based publisher Codemasters will be closing its U.S. offices in response to disappointing sales figures in 2009. As it turns happens, the rumors aren't entirely true. But they are a little bit true.
To clarify the rumors, Codemasters released the following statement to IGN: "As many organizations have in the past year, Codemasters has reassessed the scale of its North American office and is returning to a core Sales and Publishing operation that will receive significant support from our distribution partners. In light of this restructure, six staff have been let go from the U.S. commercial team, three from marketing; we recognize and thank them for their efforts during the past year. Codemasters' office in Burbank, CA remains operational under the management of Bill West and we look forward to a focused relationship with our distribution and marketing partners going forward."
We spoke to a source close to the situation, who informs us that the move appears to be part of a Codemasters effort to run a leaner operation, and the company is at least being generous with severance packages to the affected staff.
While it's never good to see talented people lose their jobs, the move makes some sense from a business perspective. Codemasters' line-up of titles from 2009 doesn't exactly read like a list of blockbusters (with the exception of Dirt 2); Rise of the Argonauts, Operation Flashpoint, and Overlord II certainly didn't live up to expectations.
Here's hoping that this move, while it may cause some short-term problems, will result in a healthier Codemasters in 2010.
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