WB Games Seattle cuts staff

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has instituted the third round of layoffs to its Pacific Northwest studios in as many years. Today the publisher confirmed that cuts were made to its WB Games Seattle operation.

"Due to shifting business imperatives, WB Games Seattle has made staff reductions," a representative told GameSpot. "The group will continue to remain an integral part of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment."

The most recently released project from WB Games Seattle was Gotham City Impostors, a downloadable Batman-themed team-based first-person shooter for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. The publisher's Seattle developers are also working on Guardians of Middle-earth, a Lord of the Rings-licensed multiplayer online battle arena game set for release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this fall.

In early 2010, WBIE cut 25 staffers from its Seattle-area studios, including Surreal Software, Monolith Productions, and Snowblind Entertainment. Last year, WBIE laid off 60 employees from WB Games Seattle the same week Snowblind shipped Lord of the Rings: War in the North. The extent of the latest round of cuts is unknown.