Reports: Activision Firing Significant Staff at Multiple Studios, Cancelling More Games

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Nearly 100 Radical Entertainment employees, 60 High Moon Studios staffers and at least two games mark the latest causalities in parent company Activision Blizzard's streamlining efforts, according to reports.

Word of the Radical layoffs, which make up almost half of the Prototype-developing studio, arrived via The Vancouver Sun and was confirmed by the studio. Gamasutra cites numerous independent sources for the departures from The Bourne Conspiracy developer High Moon, which represent less than half of the company.

Left, Radical's Prototype. Right, High Moon's The Bourne Conspiracy

"Activision Blizzard is committed to making the best games possible and has elected at this time to reduce the number of titles that Radical is developing from four games to two," commented Radical human resources VP Leah Rubin. "Therefore, we will be proportionately reducing the size of our studio."

Currently at work on the open-world action game Prototype and Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over Mutant--neither of which were cancelled--Radical is also known for the licensed open-world efforts Scarface: The World is Yours and The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. Of the studio's cancelled games, one was thought to be a Scarface sequel.

High Moon, meanwhile, recently completed work on the espionage action title on The Bourne Conspiracy. Its current project is unknown, though it was believed to be working on a Bourne sequel before Activision pulled the plug.

Both former subsidiaries of Vivendi, High Moon and Radical were absorbed into Activision Blizzard when the two companies merged earlier this year.

Chris Faylor was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    August 14, 2008 9:21 AM

    I'm going to avoid jumping on the hate bandwagon and say there's probably some logical line of reasoning behind this, but... still. :( This is sad to watch happening.

    • reply
      August 14, 2008 9:37 AM

      Did not all of this occur after the Blizzard merger?

      • reply
        August 14, 2008 9:37 AM

        Yeah, this is the lingering effects of the Activision Blizzard merger.

        • reply
          August 14, 2008 9:41 AM

          Yeah.. I mean I was hoping 'Activision had some solid reason to do this.'

          • reply
            August 14, 2008 9:44 AM

            Trimming off the fat... At least they are canceling games instead of making people slave across multiple titles.

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