Report: Full Auto studio out of gas

It's been a rough year for independent developers, as Perpetual Entertainment, Iron Lore Entertainment, Stormfront Studios, and Castaway Entertainment have all gone under or suspended operations since January. Another name appears to belong on that list, as 1Up has reported that Toronto-based Pseudo Interactive has also been forced to close.

With more than a decade of development, Pseudo Interactive created an abundance of automotive anarchy, initially with versions of the vehicular combat game Cel Damage for the Xbox and PlayStation 2. However, the company is best known for its current-generation work, the Xbox 360 combat racer Full Auto and its PlayStation 3 follow-up, Full Auto 2: Battlelines. (The PlayStation Portable version of Battlelines was developed by Vancouver, British Columbia-based Deep Fried Entertainment.)

According to the article, Pseudo Interactive found itself in dire straits and had to lay off much of its 50-person staff after Eidos canned a game the studio had been working on. Presumably it was one of the 14 recently cancelled projects the publisher said were "unlikely to generate an acceptable return on investment or are not of appropriate quality."

Unfortunately, the report doesn't give a source for the leak about Pseudo's closure. A GameSpot e-mail sent to the studio's media contact address bounced, and a company representative has not returned a voicemail request for comment.