With Civ5's release date over two months away, news that Firaxis has laid off 20 workers, roughly 15% of its total employment of 130, comes as a surprise. Take-Two, Firaxis' parent company, stated that "Firaxis has realigned its development resources in order to streamline its development process, reduce costs and maximize the overall performance of the studio", all without impacting the creation of Civ5 and Civilization Network for Facebook.
According to Variety.com:
Layoffs after a game ships are fairly common in the gaming world, but layoffs of this magnitude before it is completed are rare - and rather baffling.
[sid] Meier was not affected by the layoffs and will remain with the company. "Civ V" is still scheduled for release on Sept. 21. Alan Lewis, Vice President of Corporate Communications & Public Affairs for Take Two, says the Facebook "Civ" game is on track for an open beta "later this year."
Origineel Artikel: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=371156&goto=newpost