The Vancouver Sun reported today that Vancouver video game company Radical Entertainment will be laying off about 100 employees - almost half of its staff. The cut-backs stem from a decision by parent company Activision Blizzard to reduce the number of titles Radical produces by half (from four to two). The reductions come in the wake of an ownership change last month that saw France-based Vivendi, which owns Radical, and American video software company Activision, join forces as Activision Blizzard.
Radical was founded in 1991 and bought by Vivendi in 2005 for an undisclosed price. In 2007 the company hired almost 100 people, only half of whom came from British Columbia. Twelve were from other provinces and the rest came from outside Canada. The hiring spree brought the number of employees to more than 200.
Radical Entertainment is a video game developer located in Vancouver, British Columbia. We create and develop games for all current and next... [more]
Turns out 120 of their 280 employees were axed on Thursday. Was Activision Blizzard playing hardball with staff or is the US economy downturn hitting hte gaming industry??
