After recent social media posts, Rovio confirmed to PocketGamer it’ll be shutting down subsidiary developer Studio Lumi. 16 Lumi employees are said to be affected by the closure, and an unannounced project in development has since been canceled.
According to the Montreal section of Rovio’s website, only seven staffers remain in the region, all of them working for Studio 6.
The Angry Birds creator explained that this’ll be its only closure for its studios based in Montreal, leaving Studio 6 unaffected. Similarly, key Montreal staff like brand strategy SVP Ben Mattes are also not impacted.
Its decision to shut down Lumi was “not taken likely,” explained Rovio, but had to be made in light of its choice to “focus on our core strengths on mobile. […] We want to express our gratitude to the team for their work, dedication, and contributions throughout this journey.”
Sega and Rovio already have their eyes on property growth
Lumi was founded with the express intent of making PC and console games, an area that Rovio hasn’t really dabbled in, save for a port of Angry Birds Trilogy back in 2012. Going to consoles would’ve been a boon to the developer in the wake being acquired by Sega, which wanted the company to build out its mobile presence.
Prior to these layoffs, Sega COO Shuji Utsumi revealed in November that Rovio is already developing projects based on Sega properties like Sonic the Hedgehog and Like a Dragon. He further revealed there were discussions on bringing Angry Birds to consoles in some fashion within the next few years.
These comments were similar to ones made by CEO Haruki Satomi following the acquisition. At the time, he expressed confidence in the companies’ ability to create “significant synergies” for each other’s brands in the years to come.