Layoffs at Capcom Vancouver
30% of studio laid off as Dead Rising developer reportedly sees one project cancelled, another has scope reduced
Capcom Vancouver underwent a series of layoffs today, according to multiple tweets from former employees and a Kotaku report.
Kotaku attributed its report to a source familiar with the company, who said around 50 people were laid off in a restructuring related to the company's workload of projects. One unannounced project in an early phase was reportedly scrapped, while a new Dead Rising title was significantly reduced in scope.
Capcom Vancouver has been tightly associated with the Dead Rising series since before it was even known as Capcom Vancouver. The studio was founded as Blue Castle Games, and produced a number of licensed baseball games for Take-Two Interactive before landing the assignment to make Dead Rising 2 for Capcom. That game launched in 2010, and Capcom acquired the studio and renamed it that same month. Since then, Capcom Vancouver has handled major entries in the Dead Rising series, but has also branched out into mobile development on titles like last year's Puzzle Fighter.
[UPDATE]: A Capcom represented confirmed layoffs at the studio, saying, "Capcom Vancouver has undergone a restructure which has impacted approximately 30% of the studio, as part of its regular periodic assessment of upcoming projects and overall studio goals. The team is continuing to work hard to support the recent release of Puzzle Fighter for mobile and is dedicated to its flagship Dead Rising series."