Double Fine Unnanounced Project Cancelled
12 Staff Laid off after Deal Falls Through
Sad news from the magical land we all know as Double Fine Studios. Tim Schafer, the studios founder, announced today that they had to lay off 12 employees after a deal for an as-yet announced project fell through.
He followed by assuring the public that their remaining projects (Broken Age, Massive Chalice, Grim Fandango Remastered) would be unaffected by the turmoil. This news comes just a few short months after Double Fine announced that they would start taking on titles from external developers with their own publishing service.
While I am happy that their current projects will not be affected, any job loss in the games industry is hard to stomach. Perhaps Stardock Software will reach out to those former developers and bring them into the fabled Stardock Staffing Company? Only time will tell.
Newsbrief: Today, San Francisco-based independent studio Double Fine (Broken Age, Costume Quest 2) laid off 12 staff after losing a deal for an unannounced project.
"One of our unannounced projects was unexpectedly cancelled by its publisher, forcing us to reduce our staff by 12 people. Our remaining projects -- Broken Age, Massive Chalice, and Grim Fandango Remastered, were unaffected," Double Fine founder Tim Schafer said in a statement provided to Gamasutra.
The company continues to work with external publishers (such as the embattled Majesco, which handled Costume Quest 2) as well as self-publish its games. The company has also branched out into offering publishing services and development assistance to indies with its Double Fine Presents program.
Source: Gamasutra
