Capcom confirms redundancies at Vancouver studio

Reports from a source close to Kotaku, that have since been confirmed by Destructoid, reveal that a large number of employees have been made redundant from Capcom’s Vancouver studio. The Canadian team is best known for the Dead Rising sequels, but has recently released mobile title Puzzle Fighters, too. Kotaku’s initial report states that 50 employees have been let go, with Capcom’s official statement giving a more nebulous figure of 30 per cent.

"Capcom Vancouver has undergone a restructure which has impacted approximately 30 percent of the studio, as part of its regular periodic assessment of upcoming projects and overall studio goals,” Capcom’s official statement to Destructoid states. “The team is continuing to work hard to support the recent release of Puzzle Fighter for mobile and is dedicated to its flagship Dead Rising series."

What isn’t mentioned by Capcom is the unannounced game that, Kotaku suggests, has been cancelled. Though this was supposedly only at the early prototype stage and had yet to be greenlit. It “was envisioned as a third-person action-adventure game set in an alternate reality version of New York,” according to Kotaku’s source. 

It is also suggested that these redundancies are part of a plan to descope the next Dead Rising title. It’s a sad thing to see so soon after Capcom experienced great success with the launch of Monster Hunter World, which has continued to sell well into its second week. Though, judging from the critical and commercial performance of Dead Rising 4, not wholly unexpected.