NBA 2K11 Developer Visual Concepts Lays Off 30 Employees

Take-Two confirmed that its Visual Concepts studio, developer of 2K Sports titles like NBA 2K11, cut 30 staff, claiming the need for resource alignment and better efficiency. "In order to properly align its resources with its current and future goals, and to continue to develop games as efficiently as possible, 2K Sports has eliminated approximately 30 positions at its Visual Concepts studio. These reductions will not affect 2K Sports' ability to create and deliver AAA titles, including its upcoming release of NBA 2K11," Take-Two VP of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Alan Lewis told Industry Gamers. While Take-Two did undergo restructuring at the corporate level earlier this year, it also stressed at the time that these cuts did not affect the company on a studio level. However, Civilization developer Firaxis also laid off 20 employees in the month of July, citing "a realignment of development resources". Rockstar San Diego also saw staff loss in the same month, after the May release of Red Dead Redemption, when roughly 40 employees were let go. The publisher is currently profitable, reporting $16.9 million in profits in its second fiscal quarter on the back of 5 million units shipped of Red Dead Redemption. Visual Concepts was originally owned by Sega but then sold to Take-Two Interactive in 2005 alongside its subsidiary Kush Games. It is currently working on NBA 2K11, which ships for Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 and 3, PSP, Wii and PC on October 5th, 2010.