IndustryGamers - Informing the Games Industry

Krome Studios Closes Doors On Monday

Posted October 15, 2010 by M.H. Williams

A report from Tsumea, a site for Australian and New Zealand-based game developers, says that the Brisbane headquartered Krome Studios is cutting all staff members effective Monday. Tsumea has been receiving information via credible sources, Twitter, and various comments on the site itself. Drastic job cuts were to be made at the Melbourne and Brisbane studios, with all remaining staff being cut by Monday. Unfinished development work will be finished by staff rehired as contractors.

This is the final blow in a long series of layoffs. The first came in November, with a few small cuts made in each of Krome’s three studios at the time. Then in April of this year, the company cut another 50 employees citing “new challenges” being faced by the industry worldwide. Finally, the Adelaide studio was put on notice and then cut completely in August, leaving only the Brisbane and Melbourne branches.

Krome looked to be staving off a complete shutdown via a merger with Emergent Game Technologies in September. The companies both agreed to collaborate on their middleware and core engineering teams. There is no word as to what will happen with that deal. The company also recently released the downloadable action platformer, Blade Kitten.

IndustryGamers wishes those made redundant the best of luck.

M.H. Williams has been writing in some form or another for ten years and has been a hardcore gamer since the NES first graced American shores.  You can catch him on Twitter as @AutomaticZen, Google+ as himself, or on his personal Facebook page.