Edge of Twilight dev cuts staff

Despite predictions that video game sales are expected to break all previous records in Australia this year, the local games development scene hasn't fared too well during the current economic crisis. Brisbane-based Fuzzyeyes Studios--which was working on the upcoming Edge of Twilight--is adding to the growing list of unemployed Aussie game developers, confirming rumours that it's been forced to lay off an undisclosed number of staff members.

In a press statement released overnight, Fuzzyeyes CEO Wei-Yao Lu said the company reduced its staff to a "minimum" on September 30 this year. "During this transition period, Fuzzyeyes will temporarily seize further development on any project. However, Fuzzyeyes is still in business and the office is still open. Until the transition is fully settled, Fuzzyeyes will suspend all onsite development, but all out-sourced development is still ongoing," Lu's statement said. The statement also revealed that on October 5, Fuzzyeyes made a deal to sell off portions of its company to an undisclosed third party.

GameSpot AU contacted Lu for further comment, with the CEO confirming via e-mail that development on Edge of Twilight had been shifted overseas. The CEO, however, did not offer details on how many staff members were laid off locally or who the undisclosed company was that bought part of Fuzzyeyes. According to an earlier GameSpot AU interview with Lu, Fuzzyeyes' Brisbane studios had 35 staffers and had a second studio located in Taiwan.

2009 hasn't treated the Aussie games development industry well, with Fuzzyeyes joining the likes of Krome Studios and Transmission Games, which made similar cutbacks earlier this year.