Job Loss Tracker

Job Loss Tracker

4,636
games industry jobs lost in 2010
How we calculate this number
The games industry is a fickle business. This list identifies the game companies that have folded, gone bust or otherwise disappeared.

It is not an exhaustive list, but since the start of 2009, we have striven to keep it up to date. If you want to know more about how we determine job losses, you can check out the Job Loss Tracker methodology.

Records: 139 - Total job losses: 96,044 - Games industry job losses: 12,865 ?
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Red Storm Rising

Developer
38 jobs lost
27th August, 2010
Games industry losses: 38
Red Storm Rising, a subsidiary of Ubisoft, has confirmed that it has made 38 staff redundant.

Tom Clancy studio Red Storm lays off 38 - Gamesbrief.com
Ubisoft's Red Storm Studio Lays Off 38 - GamaSutra

RealTime Worlds

Developer
129 jobs lost
17th August, 2010
Games industry losses: 129
RealTime Worlds has been placed into administration. It is likely that the remaining 200 UK staff will be made redundant. Layoffs are also likely to affect 42 US-based staff. UPDATE: The administrators have confirmed that they are keeping 53 staff on at RealTime Worlds in the UK and 14 in the US. UPDATE 2: The administrator has confirmed that a total of 157 people have been made redundant, in addition to the 60 people laid off last week, of whom 23 have been hired back...

Hubris, ambition and mismanagement: the first post-mortem of RealTime Worlds - Gamesbrief.com
Realtime Worlds games company goes into administration - BBC

RealTime Worlds

Developer
28 jobs lost
17th August, 2010
Games industry losses: 28
RealTime Worlds has been placed into administration. It is likely that the remaining 200 UK staff will be made redundant. Layoffs are also likely to affect 42 US-based staff.

UPDATE: The administrators have confirmed that they are keeping 53 staff on at RealTime Worlds in the UK and 14 in the US.

Hubris, ambition and mismanagement: the first post-mortem of RealTime Worlds - Gamesbrief.com
Game over as Realtime Worlds in administration - Financial Times

n-Space

Developer
100 jobs lost
16th August, 2010
Games industry losses: 100
Developer n-Space has made 100 employees redundant, citing a combination of several projects ending simultaneously and the delay of several unannounced projects.

Developer n-Space lays off 100 staff - Gamesbrief.com
Geist Developer n-Space Cuts Back - Kotaku

RealTime Worlds

Developer
37 jobs lost
13th August, 2010
Games industry losses: 37
Scottish developer RealTime Worlds has made 60 staff redundant and warned of further layoffs in its development team. The company launched APB, an ambitous crime MMO earlier in 2010 to mixed reception.

UPDATE: The administrators have hired back 23 staff on Project MyWorld, reducing the number of job losses to 37.

RealTime World closes MyWorld team, puts APB staff on notice - Gamesbrief.com
Rumour: Realtime Worlds warns of “drastic” APB cuts, lays off entire MyWorld team - VG247

Cohort Studios

Developer
38 jobs lost
10th August, 2010
Games industry losses: 38
Cohort Studios is rumoured to have slimmed down from 50 to 12 as it has not signed a new project after its existing PlayStation Move title The Shoot.

Has Cohort Studios slimmed down from 50 to 12? - Gamesbrief.com
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High Voltage

Developer
30 jobs lost
5th August, 2010
Games industry losses: 30
High Voltage has made "20-30" people redundant, although the source suggests that there may be a further round of layoffs shortly.

20-30 jobs lost at High Voltage - Gamesbrief.com
Source: High Voltage Software lays off at least 20 employees - Joystiq

Kuju

Developer
35 jobs lost
22nd July, 2010
Games industry losses: 35
Kuju has halved the headcount at Headstrong Studios, its subsidiary that focuses on games for Nintendo platforms. The redundancies include studio head Bradley Crooks

Kuju’s Headstrong makes half its staff redundant - Gamesbrief.com
Crooks exits Headstrong as team moves to PS3, 3DS work - Gamesindustry.biz

Rockstar San Diego

Developer
40 jobs lost
15th July, 2010
Games industry losses: 40
Rockstar Studios has made 40 layoffs shortly after it shipped the massively successful Red Dead Redemption.

Take Two cuts 60 development staff at Firaxis and Rockstar - Gamesbrief.com
Rumor: Rockstar Lays Off 40 From Red Dead Redemption Studio - Kotaku

Ready at Dawn

Developer
13 jobs lost
15th July, 2010
Games industry losses: 13
Ready at Dawn has made 13 layoffs because "we simply couldn't keep them on board while one project finishes and another ramps up."

Ready at Dawn makes 13 layoffs due to the nature of the games business - Gamesbrief.com
Ready At Dawn trims studio headcount - Gamesindustry.biz

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