JoWooD closes Massive Development
Massive Development is to be shut down as part of a cost-cutting measure, JoWooD has revealed, with PS2 and Xbox ports of aquatic shooter AquaNox to be the company's last.
Austria-based publisher JoWooD Productions has announced that subsidiary Massive Development, creator of PC title AquaNox, including the forthcoming PS2 and Xbox ports, is to close its doors once the game is complete.
In a statement, the company said the closure was "part of the announced action plan in order to reduce costs and optimise the product portfolio". JoWooD's financial results for Q1 2005, released last month, showed a consolidated loss of $4.8m despite an increase in company turnover.
The publisher pledged to lower costs as a result, and has said that it will focus on titles with international distribution potential as the product line-up is streamlined. Games will now be selected "according to economic, technical and quality criteria as well as on the basis of the track records of potential contractors," said JoWooD.
The closure of Massive, coupled with a new cost-management strategy, "Reduces the burden of fix costs allowing control derived from milestone delivery," the statement continued.
JoWooD confirmed that the completion and release of AquaNox will remain unaffected by the move. Other forthcoming JoWood titles include Stargate SG-1: The Alliance and Panzer Elite Action, both slated for release later this year.