Saints Row, Agents Of Mayhem Developer Hit With Layoffs

Saints Row developer Volition has laid off "over 30 people," according to Kotaku, which names the studio's general manager, Dan Cermak, as one of the people among those affected. The studio's last major release, Agents of Mayhem, failed to make a big impact critically and, according to Kotaku's three sources, parent company Deep Silver "was unhappy" with sales.

As of yet, the circumstances leading to the layoffs haven't been confirmed and it is common for studios to decrease in number after development on a big project is complete. GameSpot has contacted Volition and Deep Silver for a statement on the matter.

Volition was purchased by Deep Silver following THQ's bankruptcy in 2013. It has since released Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell and Agents of Mayhem. While the latter of the two is set in the Saints Row universe, the game was not marketed as a new entry in the popular open-world series, but was instead treated as a brand new property.

The studio also worked on the Red Faction series while under THQ, though the last entry in that series was 2011's Red Faction: Armageddon.

In GameSpot's Agents of Mayhem review, critic Brett Todd awarded it a 4/10, saying it was "a broken and repetitive game," and its personality couldn't overcome these flaws.

"The attitude behind Agents of Mayhem has potential, at least if it's executed properly," he continued. "But there's little to Agents of Mayhem beyond its foul-mouthed and bombastic attitude, which push the game into grating and obnoxious territory. Throw in the poor mission design and bugs, and you've got a game with loads of mayhem, but not much else."