It’s not uncommon that developers of MMOG see studio restructuring around launch. The bulk of development complete, studios often reduce headcount or at least move a chunk of the development team onto the next title. What is a little odd is that Red 5 Studios, makers of Firefall were so open about it. The announcement wasn’t buried in a corporate document. Instead, the news was broken by a PR release. The same channel used to describe all the positive factors of the MMO shooter.
The short update describes the situation as a “reorganization.” One that will seemingly impact the Stage 5 TV entertainment channel the company only launched in the early spring. In all, 10% of the company’s staff will be “reorganized,” the ‘“majority” from Stage 5. For gamers, development of Firefall is unchanged, with Open Beta Stage 2 continuing and a major patch coming in late September.
The company never specifically mentioned layoffs, but reorganization is often industry jargon for cuts. Better to break the news yourself then let the rumor mill run with it.