Almost half of the workforce at Activision’s 7 Studios has reportedly been laid off.

The Los Angeles-based developer, which has worked on projects including Fantastic 4: Rise Of The Silver Surfer, Shrek The Third and Napoleon Dynamite: The Game, has cut around 30 members of staff, sources have informed Kotaku.

"Since the completion of its acquisition by Activision, 7 Studios has realigned its business to focus its development resources on the music genre,” the publisher told the site. “As a part of this realignment, the studio is reducing its workforce to better reflect Activision's upcoming slate of music-based games."

7 Studios was working as a contract developer on DJ Hero rival Scratch The Ultimate DJ when it was purchased by Activision in April 2009. That same month Scratch publisher Genius Products launched a lawsuit against Activision and 7 Studios, alleging that the pair had conspired to prevent its game from getting to market prior to the release of DJ Hero by withholding code and a proprietary game controller.

Activision denied any foul play, stating that the acquisition was made to "bolster its development capabilities" and noting that it was to provide “the fledgling developer with much needed financing during these difficult economic times”.

We’ve contacted Activision for further comment on the number of layoffs at 7 Studios.