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SEGA Hit Hard with Layoffs; Zipper Shutdown Confirmed

Mar 30 2012 03:15 PM | Jason Clement in Industry News

Things are getting just a bit more serious for SEGA as today they've announced a significant number of layoffs have hit the company. According to IGN's sources, the entire North American QA team has been dissolved, leaving future QA work in the hands of SEGA Europe's team instead.

Other areas affected include marketing, design, social, and development. So far, SEGA has announced that only games in four of their franchises are safe from any cancellations, and they include games in the Sonic, Football Manager, Aliens, and Total War franchises.

In addition, IGN's sources have said that any currently announced titles that do not fall into those categories will not be published by SEGA; this would likely include Anarchy Reigns and the upcoming 3DS game Rhythm Thief and the Emperor's Treasure.

And in related news, Sony has confirmed to IGN that Zipper Interactive is indeed being shut down as well, just as the rumors pointed to earlier in the month.

Game Podunk wishes the best to those that were laid off and hopes for a speedy recovery on the job front to all who were affected.

5 Comments

TYLERxDURDEN

Mar 30 2012 04:15 PM

Zipper should have just released Socom 2 HD and rolled in the cash. Instead they killed Socom. Sad that we may never see MAG 2 though.

DrPixel

Mar 30 2012 09:05 PM

R.I.P. Zipper Interactive! I bought MAG a few months ago and have been enjoying it quite a bit lately so when I first read the rumors of them shutting down on some random gaming news blog a few weeks ago, I felt a bit sad. I really do hope they'll keep the servers up for their games for a while!

Still haven't tried Socom (or at least the PS3 versions) yet but hope to in the future.

DrPixel

Mar 30 2012 09:07 PM

Also, with SEGA losing cash, that makes me really worried. The rumors that suggested HD remakes for Shenmue and Skies of Arcadia could be possible seem in jeopardy now with this piece of news! I hope

sirdan357

Mar 30 2012 09:54 PM

I'm honestly surprised Sega has lasted this long. They can only release so many crappy Sonic games to postpone the inevitable. Pretty soon they will end up like Midway, having to sell off their few semi-lucrative franchises before they go under completely. Maybe Nintendo will end up buying Sonic? Zipper closing wasn't too surprising either, since all of their current-gen games way under performed in Sony's eyes.

Leah

Mar 30 2012 10:01 PM

I'm honestly surprised Sega has lasted this long. They can only release so many crappy Sonic games to postpone the inevitable. Pretty soon they will end up like Midway, having to sell off their few semi-lucrative franchises before they go under completely. Maybe Nintendo will end up buying Sonic? Zipper closing wasn't too surprising either, since all of their current-gen games way under performed in Sony's eyes.

I dunno.. I think Sega has been doing pretty well lately

Their last couple of Sonic games have been met with a lot of praise, too.

I'm really sad about all of this. I'm worried about Rhythm Thief and the possibility of it not making it here anymore, but above all, all of those people laid off and without jobs now. I hope those affected are able to recuperate soon!

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