Guitar Hero Live developer FreestyleGames is facing major cuts after owner Activision concluded their 'consultation' session in February. While no exact numbers have been given, the owner is now actively looking to place the redundant staff elsewhere.
Guitar Hero Live, which was launched in February against competition Rock Band 4, failed to meet expectations and produced rather weak results. In a final call following the performance, Activision Publishing chief Eric Hirshberg decided not to release another new game this cycle on this platform that he had originally built to sell downloadable content.
"Guitar Hero Live is a fun, high-quality game that introduced innovative new game play to fans, including the GHTV platform, which keeps our community engaged and will allow us to cost-effectively deliver new content and build our installed base. We plan to release new content, but not another full Guitar Hero console game this cycle," Hirshberg reconfirmed.
The games suffered a setback because of a surge in toys-to-life genre such as Lego Dimensions, Disney Infinity, and Nintendo's Amiibo. The casual audience's inclination towards mobile games also seems to be a contributing factor. This rendered Activision to change gears and refocus on better aligning their strategies with the dynamic industry.
The refocus consequently affected the 100 odd people working for FreestyleGames, of which almost half of them are said to have been laid off following the consultation in February. The downsizing mainly stemmed from poor performance of the latest Skylanders and Guitar Hero games. Despite the changes, Activision says that "the UK remains a key market for Activision Blizzard and FreeStyleGames continues to be a great partner".
Guitar Hero Live, till the Rival mode releases in December, will carry on as a DLC, while Freestyle lends a helping hand with other games like Call of Duty Online in the transition period of restructuring.
Photo: Philip Rood | Flickr
