Square Enix Europe is to cut a number of jobs at Beautiful Game Studios in a bid “to build a successful commercial future for the Championship Manager brand”.

News of the studio’s restructure comes via GamesIndustry.biz, which reports that around 80 per cent of jobs will either be cut or relocated to China in order to reduce costs.

"We have taken a decision to re-focus our vision for the franchise and redefine our business model to build a successful commercial future for the Championship Manager brand," a Square Enix spokesperson told the site. "Our current business model does not allow us to compete in a fast-changing industry with any degree of flexibility or commercial confidence.

"To achieve this, we will be re-structuring Beautiful Game Studios, which will regrettably bring with it unavoidable job losses. We aim to have this completed before the end of this calendar year."

Roy Meredith will continue to head the studio, while the Championship Manager brand will remain headquartered in London, according to the report.

The studio’s most recent release was last September's Championship Manager 2010. Eidos, the game's publisher at the time, opted to test a 'pay what you want' pre-order promotion for the PC title in the weeks leading up to its launch.