Author: by Staff

Parent company Square Enix Europe has announced restructuring and layoffs at UK-based Championship Manager developer Beautiful Game Studios, with around 80% of jobs cut or relocated, according to media reports. An official statement given to UK websites -- including GamesIndustry.biz -- said of the studio, which was founded by Eidos in 2003 to continue the soccer game management series: "We have taken a decision to re-focus our vision for the franchise and redefine our business model to build a successful commercial future for the Championship Manager brand. Our current business model does not allow us to compete in a fast-changing industry with any degree of flexibility or commercial confidence." The statement concluded: "To achieve this, we will be re-structuring Beautiful Game Studios, which will regrettably bring with it unavoidable job losses. We aim to have this completed before the end of this calendar year. No further official details were made available, although GamesIndustry.biz believes "around 80 per cent of posts will either be cut or relocated to China in a cost-cutting exercise, while Roy Meredith will continue to lead the studio, and the Championship Manager brand will remain headquartered in London." Parent company and Final Fantasy creator Square Enix, which officially purchased Eidos in April 2009, recently lowered its profit forecast by 65 percent to 2.6 billion yen (US$28.4 million) for the first half of its fiscal year, as it laid off employees of its primary subsidiary Square Enix Co. Ltd. and developer Taito Corporation.