SEGA confirms Racing Studio closure
Developer not profitable enough to result in "successful return" for publisher following poor SEGA Rally sales
SEGA has confirmed yesterday's rumoured closure of its Racing Studio in Birmingham, citing a clear business decision as the reason for its demise.
The studio had been responsible for the latest SEGA Rally title, which was received to great critical acclaim, receiving a rare 9 out of 10 score on Eurogamer.net.
However, the title's marketing was disappointing and sales were poor, prompting original plans for an annual update to the franchise's revival to be shelved.
With no other projects for the team to move on to, it's now been deemed that the studio, unable to provide a reasonable return on investment, should be closed as part of SEGA's review into its operations.
The full statement from SEGA is as follows:
"Regrettably SEGA today announced that it is to commence consultation with a view to the unfortunate closure of the SEGA Racing Studio in Birmingham, UK.
"The decision is part of a review of SEGA's Western Development Studios to ensure that each studio is a profitable entity in its own right, and unfortunately the SEGA Racing Studio's 5 year plan would not result in a successful return for the SEGA business moving forward.
"SEGA would like to stress that there will be no changes within their other internal development studios."