Report: Developer GRIN Sees More Layoffs, Studio Closures

Gamasutra has learned from reliable development sources that Stockholm-based developer GRIN has seen significant layoffs, and may be facing difficulty staying afloat. The news comes after the company saw heavy layoffs earlier this year, no doubt the partial result of weaker-than-expected sales and critical reception to 2009 games like Bionic Commando, Wanted: Weapons of Fate, and Terminator Salvation. According to a Swedish-language report from IDG this past June -- which went seemingly unreported in the English-language press -- the company has already closed its Barcelona and Gothenburg offices, events confirmed by Gamasutra sources. Furthermore, the company's main Stockholm office may also be in jeopardy. Sources indicated to Gamasutra that employees have apparently been told not to show up for work, and the company may be undergoing some kind of closing or facing difficulty staying afloat. The company saw a considerable rise in the last few years. Though it was founded in 1997, it was not until it was given responsibility for the PC versions of the Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter games that GRIN started becoming more widely-known as a company. Since then, it has opened additional locations and attracted an increasing number of development deals from major publishers before running into trouble earlier this year. Interestingly, fellow Stockholm-based studio Fatshark today announced the multiplayer shooter Lead & Gold - Gangs of the Wild West; Fatshark uses GRIN's Diesel engine, and GRIN is a stakeholder in the company. Gamasutra is following up with GRIN representatives and will update if new information is received. [UPDATE: Consumer game blog VG247 has reached a GRIN spokesperson, who has stated: "At the moment we have no comment to anything [related to] that matter."]