Following speculation on social media, Rovio have confirmed that they are closing Studio Lumi, located in Montreal and part of their Rovio Montreal development unit. Studio Lumi was established with the goal of creating games on PC/console.
Rovio have confirmed that the move has resulted in the loss of 16 jobs with Studio Lumi’s as yet unannounced project terminated. Rovio continues to run Studio Six, however, who previously worked alongside Studio Lumi in Montreal, Canada.
The company has also confirmed that key Montreal-based staff such as SVP of brand strategy Ben Mattes, remain in their current roles.
“We can benefit from their decades of expertise outside mobile”
An official statement given to PocketGamer.biz reads, “A decision like this is never taken lightly, but it is in line with following Rovio’s strategy of strengthening our focus on our core strengths on mobile.
“With the recent acquisition by Sega, we can benefit from their decades of expertise outside mobile to achieve the goal of bringing the Angry Birds brand also to players outside mobile. We want to express our gratitude to the team for their work, dedication, and contributions throughout this journey.”
It’s been quite a year for Rovio with rumours of takeover being made real with a buyout by Sega in January and speculation rife as to how the two giants could and would work together. With an injection of market-leading IP from one side and mobile talent from the other it was clear that some degree of “strengthening our focus on our core strengths on mobile” would be necessary a some stage.
Today’s moves follow the reveal – at the recent RovioCon 23 – of plans for a Segaverse along with the confirmation that Rovio had already begun work on titles utilising the Sonic and Yakuza brands, following the teast of a new Rovio x Sega mobile game.
