Snowblind Studios Layoffs

Apparently it’s fairly commonplace for QA testers to be laid off after a game is released, so I suppose it isn’t too surprising to see Kotaku reporting that Warner Bros. Interactive has “routinely” laid off around 60 employees from their Snowblind, Monolith, and Surreal studios following the release of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. I just hope that this doesn’t hurt Snowblind in the long-term, and that it doesn’t spell the end to any further add-ons or support the game might receive:

The layoffs hit WBIE’s Seattle operations, comprising the Snowblind, Monolith and Surreal studios. Snowblind developed The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, which released on Tuesday. A statement from WBIE made it sound like the layoffs were routine, which it certainly is within the industry.

“As part of the continual review of our business operations and fluctuating market conditions, we have had to make reductions in our WB Games Seattle workforce,” a spokesman told Kotaku. They didn’t specify what types of jobs were lost.

Gamasutra backs up Kotaku’s report, as well.