California-based developer Red 5 Studios has reportedly laid off a significant proportion of its workforce, leaving the company with a “skeleton crew” unable to complete an unannounced MMO title.
The studio was formed by ex-Blizzard staffers including chief creative officer Mark Kern, formerly team lead on World Of Warcraft, and vice president of creative design Bill Petras, previously art director on WOW.
Kotaku suggests the studio’s headcount has been reduced from 65 to 30, although the company employed 100 staff as of December 2008 before closing its Shanghai office.
The site’s sources claim that Red 5 was on the verge of closure before being saved by an unnamed buyer last week, and that an MMO FPS project it had been developing has been shelved in order to focus on a project for the Chinese market.
We’ve contacted Red 5 for comment.