THQ Rebrands Studios Under New Digital Initiative, Laying Off 'Approximately 60'

MX vs. ATV developer Rainbow Studios and Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights developer Juice Games have been renamed THQ Digital Studios Phoenix and THQ Digital Studios Warrington as owner THQ pursues an ambitious new digital initiative.

The company plans to create a new "portfolio-wide community platform to connect consumers to all of THQ's core games"--think Ubisoft's Uplay--and increase its focus on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, iPhone, iPad and Facebook games.

Such downloadable efforts from the studios will include "major core brands as well as new intellectual properties," with the first wave due between April 2010 and April 2011.

"A total of approximately 60 people" will be laid off across the two studios "as a result of the realignment," says THQ. Juice has "over 50 staff," going by its site. The headcount of Rainbow, which also developed Deadly Creatures, was not disclosed, but THQ noted "plans to continue to publish MX vs. ATV games under the Rainbow Studios brand."