Codemasters Prepares for Layoffs as Dirt 4 Team Shrinks

Some fifty jobs are being considered for redundancy at UK developer and publisher Codemasters, with the corporation looking to remove staff in order to ease its wage budget.

As many as thirty jobs could be made redundant, according to a purported inside source speaking to Eurogamer. Roles under scrutiny include designers and artists working on the next instalments of the Grid and Dirt franchises.

The F1 team, which is developing the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One edition of the annual racer, is said to be safe.

But the unannounced Dirt 4 project, reportedly production at Codemasters' Warwickshire headquarters, may be affected as its team is targeted for reduction. That may delay Dirt 4's release and its announcement, which was expected to come before mid-February (the game's official name is unknown).

Codemasters has not discussed the details of the downsizing, thought to affect about ten percent of its staff, but it has confirmed plans for the reduction.

"As Codemasters continues its program of strategic realignment in line with market changes, the company has reviewed its current structures to focus on areas of increased importance and decrease resources in areas where work requirements have been reduced," reads a company statement.

"As a result of this review, a small number of roles have been proposed as being at risk of redundancy. Those in potentially affected roles are now involved in a consultation period to discuss the proposal. The proposal does not affect the ongoing production of titles in development and no projects have been cancelled as a result of the proposal."