Report: Three SOE studios close, layoffs abound
by James Ransom-Wiley 
on Mar 31st 2011 11:05AM
Following a
series of tweets from George Broussard, co-owner of 3D Realms, which indicated that Sony Online Entertainment would be undergoing layoffs and possible studio closures around its five locations today,
Kotaku reports that a source "familiar with the matter" has confirmed the closures of SOE's Denver, Seattle and Tucson studios. Additionally, half of the Austin staff has been reportedly laid off, along with a "sizeable" number of workers at SOE's San Diego headquarters. In all, the layoffs are said to affect nearly one-third of SOE's total workforce.
Notably, SOE Seattle has been the lead development studio of
The Agency, which had been
slated to launch in the second half of the year (after a long delay). Neither SOE Denver nor Tucson has been working on anything as high profile as
The Agency, though both have continued to operate a number of SOE titles, including Denver's
Legends Of Norrath and other digital card games, and Tucson's
PoxNora strategy game.U
Update: SOE has
issued an official statement confirming the report and providing further details.
