Rumor: Red Dead Redemption Developer Hit With Layoffs [Update]

[Update: July 15, 9:20am] Rockstar San Diego studio manager Steve Martin has released the following statement to the media in response to the layoff rumors:

As is typical with game development, our team sizes have always fluctuated over the course of the development cycle. As Rockstar San Diego transitions from the launch of Red Dead Redemption onto future projects, we are realigning our resources in order to continue to develop games as effectively as possible.We are ensuring that all employees who are affected by these changes are being treated with care. While we have no announcements to make regarding a sequel to Red Dead Redemption, the team here are hard at work on the development of downloadable content for the game.

[Original Story] Though Red Dead Redemption sold exceptionally well and publisher Rockstar games recently announced four downloadable content packs are underway for it, sources tell Shacknews that the studio behind the game got hit with a heavy layoff at the end of the day today. According to the report as many as 40 members of Rockstar San Diego were let go.

One of the downsides to the production cycle for big games is the inability to support the staff size after the game ships. This seems to be the likely scenario at Rockstar San Diego where the only currently known projects are the DLC and whatever support they may provide for games in production at other Rockstar studios.

We've reached out to Rockstar for comment but given the late hour on the East Coast do not expect to hear back until tomorrow.