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Krome Studio, Staff "On Notice", Layoffs And Closure Possible
Difficult times are on the horizon for one of Australia's largest game developers. Krome Studios has confirmed that they are potentially shutting down one of their three offices and considering additional layoffs in the near future.
The sad news comes by way of GameSpot, where the developer issued a statement blaming their problems on the current economic troubles. "These times are challenging and as a result, we have put some of our staff on notice pending the outcome of a number of upcoming projects," the studio's statement read.
Krome was founded in 1999 and became known last generation for the Ty the Tasmanian Tiger and Legend of Spyro games. It has three studios located in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Adelaide. More recently, it's created Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Republic Heroes and Game Room on Xbox Live Arcade. It's unclear what would happen to Game Room if Krome's problems persist.
Talk of problems at the studio began with rumors that it had lost the rights to develop the Wii version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II after its Wii port of the original was not well-received. Originally, it was believed that the Adelaide office had been shut down altogether, with major layoffs at the Melbourne and Brisbane studios in addition.
According to Krome, though, both the Adelaide studio and affected staff have not been cut loose yet. They are on a "four-week notice period" as they wrap up some current projects. At the end of that time, a decision will be made as to whether or not they are shut down.
Things have been difficult at Krome for a while now. The developer previously went through layoffs during April of this year and November of 2009. Here's hoping the people employed there can pull through this latest bout of trouble mostly unscathed.
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