Tony Hawk dev Robomodo loses 60 staff and franchise
Future uncertain as studio is taken off long-running Activision series
Chicago-based developer Robomodo has reportedly cut 60 positions from its workforce, and revealed that the forthcoming Tony Hawk: Shred will be the last game the company makes for the Activision franchise.
Shred is due to use the skateboard peripheral sold alongside Robomodo's previous title, Ride, which saw a disappointing performance at retail and a poor reception from critics. Ride was the first game in the series to be made without any input from series' originators Neversoft.
Robomodo president Josh Tsui confirmed the job losses in a statement to Gamasutra, remaining optimistic about the other projects that Robomodo are working on.
"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," said Tsui.
"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."
The losses at independent Robomodo are the second cull of an Activision-related developer in as many days, with Activision-owned Singularity developer Raven losing 40 staff yesterday.