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Level-5 International America closes design department

Two laid off, another moved to new role as Japan HQ takes over project

Level-5 International America has laid off two employees and moved a third into another role following the closure of a game design department.

Speaking to a source familiar with the matter, GamesIndustry.biz learned that the department's project had been moved to Japan. According to LinkedIn, the California-based arm of the company only has between 2 and 10 employees total.

When reached for comment, Level-5 confirmed the layoffs had occurred but declined to comment on details, as this was "not a large-scale restructuring."

Level-5's most recent North American releases were Yo-Kai Watch 3 earlier this year and Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom last year, with the former published by Nintendo and the latter by Bandai Namco. It is unclear as to which projects remain the responsibility of Level-5's International America branch.

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Rebekah Valentine

Senior Staff Writer

Rebekah arrived at GamesIndustry in 2018 after four years of freelance writing and editing across multiple gaming and tech sites. When she's not recreating video game foods in a real life kitchen, she's happily imagining herself as an Animal Crossing character.