A new report from The New York Times indicates that Disney’s Game and Internet Division has laid off roughly 700 employees, which amounts to over 25% of their global staff. The cuts come as a result of Disney combining their mobile games and social games into one group, in addition to deciding to no longer develop titles in house, instead choosing to license them to outside vendors.
Disney Interactive, which published several titles just last year including the very successful Disney Infinity, has announced it will cut game production down by as much as 50%.
2013 saw Disney Interactiv”s revenue at a five-year high following the release of Disney Infinity, which combines interactive gameplay with collectible figurines, but even the success of the new-found series couldn’t match the years of lost revenue for the company.
“We’re not exiting any businesses, and we will pursue licensing partnerships in which we retain a lot of creative input,” James A. Pitaro, the president of Disney Interactive, said. “But this is a doubling down on mobile and an effort to focus much more intently on a core set of priorities.”
There’s no word on how these developments will affect titles currently in development, but check back here for further updates on the matter.
