Harmonix lays off 17
Rhythm game developer restructures "to align with our current and anticipated development needs"
Harmonix has undergone another round of layoffs. A representative with the Boston-based developer confirmed the news to GamesIndustry.biz today, offering the following comment:
"Today we made the difficult decision to say goodbye to 17 talented people as we restructured to align with our current and anticipated development needs. These people all played a role in making Harmonix and its games what they are today and we are more than grateful for their contributions. We are working to ensure that they are taken care of as we make this change."
Harmonix currently has a number of projects in various stages of development, including a pair of Oculus-backed titles, Rock Band VR (released last week) and Sing Space. It also continues to support Rock Band Rivals and is readying DropMix, a music mixing game created in conjunction with Hasbro.
This is the fourth time Harmonix has cut staff in the last five years, though it appears to be one of the larger such cuts it has made. The studio cut a pair of people early last year, and a late 2013 round of layoffs impacted "a small number" of employees. However, a 2014 round of layoffs was considerably larger, leaving 37 developers out of work in a restructuring that also saw co-founder Alex Rigopulos step away from the CEO role.