Roughly 16 staff — mostly design and project managers, says IGN — have been let go from developer Rare following the Kinect-less Xbox One announcement and low sales of Kinect Sports Rivals.
When asked about the layoffs, IGN received this response from Microsoft:
“At Xbox, our goal is to constantly create new fun, social and interactive entertainment experiences. As part of Rare’s commitment to this goal, we have made a decision to change our development process and methodology at Rare to best support our future projects, this has led to us reviewing the skills and the makeup of our development teams in our business.
“Rare continues to invest in our people and future projects.”
With Kinect Sports Rivals initially intended to be an Xbox One launch title, interest in the game dwindled as it was met with less than expected sales figures after its April 2014 release. According to IGN, 150 employees worked on Kinect Sports Rivals during the peak of its development. Now that it’s on store shelves, Rare — as a strong supporter of the Kinect — has cut 16 jobs while they figure out what to do next now that the Xbox One will no longer be bundled with the Kinect starting next month.
We here at What’s Your Tag? wish all of those affected by the layoffs the best of luck.
Bradley Keene is an avid gamer & aspiring writer from Baltimore, MD that handles news, reviews and editing here at What’s Your Tag?. If he’s not writing or knee-deep in an MMO, he’s usually watching low-budget horror films or following Orioles baseball. Follow him on Twitter, Twitch or contact him by e-mail. Love gaming? Join TEAM XBRO today!
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