GRIN hit by layoffs - Report

As the US gaming industry continues to slug through several consecutive months of retail-sales contraction, the global economic downturn appears to have at last caught up with the gaming industry in 2009. However, the industry has for the most part staved off the corporate bloodletting that dominated much of 2008. Still, companies continue to struggle, and the latest to take drastic measures to stay afloat appears to be Swedish developer GRIN.

As spotted by industry site Gamasutra, Swedish-language news agency IDG reported in June that GRIN had closed two of its studios--one in Gothenburg, Sweden, and the other in Barcelona, Spain. Twenty-nine employees at the Gothenburg studio were reportedly affected by the headcount reduction, with approximately 70 more positions eliminated in Barcelona.

According to a GRIN representative speaking to IDG, the outfit was unable to secure a new development deal after work wrapped on Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment's Terminator Salvation in May. Beyond Terminator Salvation, GRIN shipped WBIE's Wanted: Weapons of Fate in March, as well as Capcom's Bionic Commando in May. All three games received substandard review scores.

Citing sources familiar with the layoffs, Gamasutra also reports that GRIN has made staff cuts at its Stockholm headquarters. The site's sources were less clear on how deeply these cuts affected the developer.

GRIN had not responded to GameSpot's requests for comment as of press time.