Midway Austin facing 90 layoffs, 'Criminal' canceled [update]
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Aug 11th 2008 at 4:15PM }
We have reached out to Midway for further clarification on the status of the Austin studio and its projects, and will update as soon as we obtain a statement.
Update: Midway has issued a press release detailing the layoffs and game cancellation (note: emphasis ours): "Midway Games Inc. today announced that it has canceled an as-yet-unannounced project in production in its Austin, TX, facility, and as a result Midway will have a reduction in force of a portion of the affected development team. The studio will remain open and will continue to operate both the Company's Central Outsourcing Group as well as two teams that are working on unnamed prototype projects intended to expand Midway's portfolio of new intellectual property ... The workforce reduction will affect approximately 90 of the 130 people currently employed in the studio." [Thanks, dvnt]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Duke @ Aug 11th 2008 4:24PM
Damn shame. I was really looking forward to someday being told what Criminal may or may not be and how great it would or wouldn't be. Darn.
Siphon42 @ Aug 11th 2008 4:30PM
wow,well that sucks. Poor guys. Wish them the best of luck.
Thatoneguy64 @ Aug 11th 2008 4:35PM
Man, that game's name was criminally bad.....
>_>
dvnt @ Aug 11th 2008 4:37PM
200? What? Read the press release...
"The workforce reduction will affect approximately 90 of the 130 people currently employed in the studio."
http://www.midway.com/rxpage/mpr_12769.html
rv @ Aug 11th 2008 6:00PM
4 comments = nobody cares
Dale @ Aug 12th 2008 9:49AM
I'm sure those affected and their families care.
dark_inchworm @ Aug 11th 2008 6:29PM
Thank you for canning what was apparently a brand new franchise :-/
Every now and then they'll release two or three games that leave a good enough impression that I think they're turning things around, and then they wind up pulling stunts like this and churning out more turds. When are you gonna straighten up, Midway?
Jawmuncher @ Aug 11th 2008 6:40PM
All I want from midway is Psi-Ops 2
Monkey65 @ Aug 11th 2008 6:43PM
Psi Ops 2 is all well and good but it's just not going to sell because the first one didn't sell. I really hope things get better for Midway although some people who post on here seem to have their knives constantly out.
Jawmuncher @ Aug 11th 2008 6:55PM
Yeah I like midway. I loved Stranglehold and i'm looking forward to wheelman. Just's sucks that they gave Psi-Ops 1 a cliffhanger ending and never followed though with it.
FireStiq @ Aug 11th 2008 8:23PM
where is HYDRO THUNDER HD midway ? I can go for a next-gen boat racing game, that game was hella fun but bad news about the layoffs.
Shiaoran @ Aug 11th 2008 10:53PM
You didn't read it right:
"Midway Games Inc. today announced that it has canceled an as-yet-unannounced project in production in its Austin, TX, facility"
BUT:
"The studio will remain open and will continue to operate both the Company's Central Outsourcing Group as well as two teams that are working on unnamed prototype projects intended to expand Midway's portfolio of new intellectual property"
They cancelled A project, but they are working on OTHER projectS too!
Criminal clould be one of the non-canned ones...
deepth0at @ Aug 12th 2008 1:36PM
so criminal for those that want to know could have been a great game that was basically sandbox crime game but the crimes like a bank heist for example would be pulled off exactly how you would in real life. not like just going in shooting people walking over money and then leaving scott free; a la gta. you would actually have to do recon, plan, and execute an entry, the heist and the escape, or risk being caught. sounds like a game to me...
i'd like joystiq to delve more into the story behind this if they could, and rv you can jump off a building..a really big one ;)