Layoffs: they’re arguably the most unfortunate downside to working in such an amazing industry. It seems like every other day almost, we hear about another studio laying off its employees and teetering on the brink of closing down entirely. Disney Interactive, the video game and digital media subsidiary of the Walt Disney Co. is such a studio, and according to the LA Times, a trusted source within the studio states they could be bombarded with a round of layoffs by the end of this week.
A studio that has lost more than $200 million per year between 2008 and 2012 has been in a bit of a transition the last few years, and whether it will bounce or not remains to be seen. Most notably, the studio shut down Austin, Texas-based studio Junction Point Studios – the studio responsible for the Epic Mickey series spearheaded by legendary developer Warren Spector (Deus Ex, System Shock) – last January.
Luckily, the studio has a hit on their hands by way of Disney Infinity – a game that cost $100 million to develop that has sold more than 3-million copies within the last six months. Even so, layoffs seem to be inevitable. How severe will these layoffs be? Only time will tell.