Earlier today, it was rumored that Chicago-based Tony Hawk: Ride developer Robomodo was forced to layoff 30 to 60 jobs due to the poor performance of the title. The studio was formed in 2008 and took control of the Tony Hawk franchise at Activision's behest. Their second title, Tony Hawk: Shred, is scheduled for release later this month. Kotaku was told by numerous sources that 30 to 60 employees had possibly been cut.
Robomodo president Josh Tsui later confirmed the layoffs with a simple statement.
"It is always difficult to let hard-working and valued employees go. Robomodo has retained all of the company's directors and leads, along with other staff members,” his statement reads. “All are busy working on future projects and ideas, which will become the innovative games of tomorrow. We hope to bring back some of our team as we ramp up on our next projects."
Sources have also said that the Tony Hawk franchise has been stripped from the developer. Tony Hawk: Ride was critically and commercially panned due to the inclusion of a standalone skateboard controller. The title stalled out with only 114,000 units sold in its first month. Shred uses the same controller, while aiming for a younger audience. None of the other projects Tsui mentions in his statement have been announced.
