Layoffs at Aliens: Colonial Marines co-developer TimeGate

An unconfirmed number of people have been laid off by TimeGate Studios, creator of the FPS series Section 8 and, most recently, co-developer of Gearbox's ill-fated Aliens: Colonial Marines. Officially it's part of TimeGate's preparations for "the transition to next-generation consoles and new business models," but rumour says the layoffs come shortly after a publishing deal fell through.

"We had to make the difficult decision to let go of some great game developers. This is never easy, and we're doing all we can to assist those developers affected," TimeGate president Adel Chaveleh told Polygon yesterday. "TimeGate is preparing, as is the entire industry, for the transition to next-generation consoles and new business models. As part of this reinvention, all projects and strategic initiatives continue to move forward at the studio."

Unofficially, unnamed sources told Polygon that around 25 people were laid off, and the move was connected to a publishing deal falling through earlier in the month.

Layoffs after a game is shipped is standard practice for the games industry, so if TimeGate couldn't secure a new project to shunt excess staff onto, well, sadly this happened.

As well as the two Section 8 games and the campaign side of Colonial Marines, TimeGate is known for the Kohan RTS series and the two F.E.A.R. expansion packs, Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate.