Backbone Entertainment, who helped develop Dance Central 3, is coming on hard times. Yesterday, the studio confirmed that it will be experiencing a round of layoffs.
According to an official statement from James North-Hearn, CEO of Backbone’s parent company, Backbone will continue to operate at a reduced size and will honor all of its commitments to existing partners. He attributes the layoffs to a “lower demand for conventional console development.” They layoffs were apparently necessary to match “the changing needs of today’s market” according to an official statement made to Game Informer.
Hearn was unable to comment on the number of employees that were laid off in total, but he did wish them the best. “The dedicated development staff at Backbone has put together some of the studio’s best work for our partners in the upcoming fall releases, Dance Central 3, and Midway Arcade Origins. I would like to publicly thank the departing members for their incredible service to the company. All of us at Foundation 9 are sorry to lose them and we’re here to help them to a soft landing. We wish them well in their individual pursuits.”
Rumors have been flying around that Backbone may eventually close, but currently this does not appear to be the case.