Heath-Smith steps down from Eidos and Core

Eidos development director and Core Design managing director Jeremy Heath-Smith has announced that he is to resign from the boards of both companies with immediate effect.

Heath-Smith, who has been with Eidos and Core for seven years, was closely associated with the development of the hugely delayed Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness - which narrowly missed being released in Europe in time for Eidos' financial year end despite a desperate last-minute scramble.

The game has been widely criticised since its launch for showing signs of extremely poor quality control, with serious gameplay bugs abundant throughout the product.

No information has yet been released about Heath-Smith's reasons for departing from Eidos and Core's boards - it is of course possible that the departure is for personal reasons and was planned prior to the launch of the game. However, giving the timing, it's fair to speculate that he may well be the sacrificial lamb required by Eidos for the massive delay of Tomb Raider, the poor quality of the finished product and the negative impact this will have on the company's next set of financial results.