The company operated nearly 20 development studios worldwide at peak, with a major focus on mobile titles and casual gaming. Although now, there’s one less in the pile of Gameloft properties, as the parent company has shuttered a London office. Having been founded in France in 1999, still maintains 18 other offices across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas.
It appears that the studio subsidiary was a little less profitable than Gameloft and their parent Vivendi would have liked. Vivendi purchased the company by buying the founding family of Gameloft out of their share in 2016. Specifics have not been revealed, as the projects Gameloft was working on in the office are not commonly known. But it’s assumed that these projects failed to capture strong mobile market share and keep the studio above cost.
With this closure, the company has laid off an unknown number of employees. The parent company did not comment on what positions were released either. According to Gameloft, they are looking to bring as many employees as possible back into the fold. “We are working with all employees, on a case by case basis, to find the best way to handle their situation in accordance with local employment regulations.”
According to a blog post announcing the closure, John-Paul Burke, the managing director of the studio was very frank. “For me as someone who has been playing Gameloft games from 2005 it was a dream job and I thank them for the opportunity. It gave me a fantastic platform and took me to beautiful cities and worked with amazing clients and colleagues.” Burke wrapped up his statement by giving the employees who are not out of a job, wishing them the best of luck by saying, “if you see a CV with Gameloft UK on it come across your desk. You have my word they are the best of the best.”
In a follow-up statement reported by Gamasutra, Gameloft clarified the reason for the London studio’s closure. “We are adjusting and redeploying our commercial network to reflect our priorities, and we have decided to create business hubs and rely on the most dynamic regions,” Gameloft said. The workload of the London office will be offloaded to other studios in Europe.