French developer and publisher Gameloft has reportedly closed its New Orleans studio, according to Gamasutra. As a result, “roughly 40 staff members” have been made redundant. It’s unclear whether this is the entirety of the studio, or whether any personnel were redistributed to other Gameloft offices.
Though there are fewer and fewer Gameloft studios with each passing month, it seems, with five others being completely closed since 2015. New York, Seattle, Tokyo, Valencia and New Zealand have all seen Gameloft offices disappear. It’s also reported that the company’s Madrid studio saw redundancies of 50 staff last year, reducing the headcount by half.
It’s not a great trend for the publisher, though it still has plenty of offices around the globe. The company’s hostile takeover in 2016 by Vivendi is likely a factor in making Gameloft a leaner organisation.
Our condolences go out to everyone affected by these redundancies and we hope you all find new work quickly.