Realtime Worlds announces 60 redundancies
One of Scotland's leading video games companies has been plunged into crisis after 60 staff at Realtime Worlds were made redundant.
It is understood the entire team working on the company's next title, Project: My World, which was scheduled for release next year, have lost their jobs.
The Marketgait company only released its ambitious online game APB at the start of last month after a five-year development process.
Just days after APB's release it was announced Realtime Worlds would have to make several staff redundant and move others to provide support for the game but it now appears those job losses run deeper than was imagined.
Despite this restructuring, the company announced it was already working on its next title, an online social networking game called Project: My World.
It has now been claimed the entire team working on that title have been put on "gardening leave" and are expected to lose their jobs.
A statement released by the firm said, "Further to the press release issued on July 7 announcing the post-launch restructure for APB and expected redundancies, the 30-day consultation period with the affected staff has ended.
"The supporting infrastructure for a game inevitably changes once released, and those staff that couldn't be redeployed to new projects in the art, audio, coding, design, production, and QA (quality assurance) departments have regrettably been made redundant.
"APB continues to be our primary development focus, and we remain fully committed to the game and its players."
Studio manager Colin MacDonald said, "The only other thing I can add is, from a personal point of view, how hard all this has been.
"We're a pretty tight team and it is highly regrettable to let anyone go but as is always the case, if you can't redeploy someone, redundancies are unavoidable."
One source at the company said, "We're laying off 60 staff and cancelling projects that have taken years to develop."
Another claimed, "The My World team has been completely laid off. As many as 60 may have gone, but there's a rumour they may be trying to sell the team as a smaller entity."
Another member of staff said, "I think it's pretty clear that they put all their eggs into one basket with APB. There's no contingency if it doesn't make it.
"We knew they were planning redundancies, but there was no expectation it would be on this scale.
"We expected things to be bad but didn't expect so many people to be made redundant so quickly."
One member of staff posted on a forum to reassure APB players the game would not be affected.
"As we've announced we had to restructure the company to make it so that we can focus totally on APB," he wrote.
"APB is still going strong and we fully intend to support 100%."
He later posted that he hoped staff working on My World would soon be "picked up" by other companies.
Less than a year ago Realtime Worlds announced it was expanding its office space and looking to increase the total number of staff to more than 300.
The company was founded in 2002 and headed by Dave Jones, who was responsible for creating two of the world's most successful gaming franchises, Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto.
Realtime's first game, Crackdown, was a huge success, selling over 1.5 million copies and earning the company a video game BAFTA, but the sequel to the game was developed by Dundee studio Ruffian Games, which was set up by former Realtime Worlds employees.
Dundee Lord Provost John Letford described the job losses as "disastrous." He said, "There was a real feeling of optimism about Realtime Worlds and this is really bad news.
"Dundee has lost its industry and companies like this are our future but, if anybody can recover from this, it will be Realtime because of the drive and ethos they have there."
Dundee West Labour MP Jim McGovern laid part of the blame for the announcement at the feet of the UK Government for withdrawing tax breaks for the industry that were set up by Labour administration.
He said, "I have met Colin MacDonald of Realtime Worlds on a number of occasions, indeed as recently as last week and I know he will be devastated at having to make this announcement.
"Despite being the party who claimed to support business in their manifesto, the Conservatives, aided and abetted by the Liberal Democrats, in their first budget withdrew these tax incentives.
"The Scottish Select Committee, of which I am a member, are conducting an inquiry into the computer games industry's importance to Dundee and indeed throughout Scotland."
Scottish based game-developer Realtime Worlds entered  today following low sales of their online shooter game, .

Between 60 and 170 jobs will be lost, and a total closure of their US office has been announced. APB will stay online to gamers who have already purchased the game. The company's administrators are 

A former employee heavily criticised the company's business plans, saying "the problem was that management looked at the revenue they wanted to generate and priced accordingly, failing to realise (or care) that there are literally a dozen top quality, subscription free team based shooters. Many of which, now, have progression and persistence of some sort – for free... The sheer time spent and money it took to make APB is really a product of fairly directionless creative leadership."

The game's early announcement, over-reliance on one product and "letting the details emerge along the way, rather than being planned out beyond even a rudimentary form," were also blamed. The company now seeks to restructure, with an aim to provide support for the new game and to work on their next release, Project: My World. This  game is still intended to be released, although ''The Courier'' reports that every member of the development team is now jobless.