French mobile developer Gameloft has shut down its UK branch, resulting in an unspecified number of layoffs.
The studio’s managing director John-Paul Burke broke the news on Linkedin, explaining that the London office closed its doors last week.
Gameloft is best known for working on popular mobile franchises like Asphalt, Modern Combat, and Nova. The company was acquired by French media conglomerate Vivendi in 2016 after a protracted, but ultimately successful, hostile takeover.
“Unfortunately last week we closed Gameloft UK. What an amazing time we had there. For me as someone who has been playing Gameloft games from 2005 it was a dream job and I thank them for the opportunity,” reads a post from Burke.
“It gave me a fantastic platform and took me to beautiful cities and worked with amazing clients and colleagues. We had tremendous success and now it is on to the next exciting challenge. I would like to thank […] all the team members we had the honor to work with over the last few years.”
We’ve reached out to Gameloft for more information on the closure.
Update: Gameloft has issued a statement to Gamasutra on the closure, noting that its advertising and distribution dealings in the UK market ultimately weren’t robust enough to justify a local office, and that it is working with those affected following the closure. That full statement can be found below: