UPDATE: Capcom has closed down the Vancouver-based studio behind the Dead Rising series, costing 158 developers their jobs in the process. The company confirmed the closure in a statement to Kotaku today just hours after it vaguely detailed the “termination of development projects” on its website.
“As a result of reviewing titles in development at Capcom Vancouver, Capcom has decided to cancel the development projects at this studio and will concentrate development of major titles in Japan,” said a Capcom representative.
The studio previously suffered layoffs in February, and a source speaking to Kotaku said that some Capcom Vancouver employees had departed the studio for EA Vancouver ahead of today’s closure announcement.
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The original story covering the initial project cancellation notice continues below:
Capcom has shared a notice detailing the financial ramifications of “the termination of development projects” previously in the works at Capcom Vancouver, though details on the cancelations such as specific games or the number of projects affected were not given.
This is the same Capcom subsidiary that laid off 30 percent of its staff amid restructuring earlier this year, and this latest hit seems to indicate that the studio is still in rough waters. Today’s announcement, however, does not mention if any additional layoffs occurred as a result.
In the notice posted online, Capcom says that the cancellation of projects at Capcom Vancouver is the result of Capcom’s ongoing review of “the allocation of its development resources” and expects the decision to cost it around 4.5 billion yen before the end of its fiscal year next March.
Capcom Vancouver itself is best known for its work on the Dead Rising series, and was said to be focusing its efforts on a new entry in the franchise after its 2017 mobile game Puzzle Fighter was shut down after less than a year online.