Sega to close five European, Australian offices

Sega will shut down five publishing offices on July 1, the firm announced today, and will be outsourcing distribution in these regions to third parties. The move will not affect developers, who continue to work on Sega's key titles.

"Sega is entering a new and exciting phase that will position the company as a content led organisation maximising sales with strong and balanced IP such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Total War, Football Manager and the Aliens franchise," Sega Europe COO Jurgen Post said in the company's announcement. "The company will benefit from a clear focus and realigned strategy for our digital business and packaged goods and we are confident that this will lead to a successful future."

The territories to be shuttered are France, Germany, Spain, Australia, and Benelux. Distribution responsibilities from the five offices will be assumed by Koch Media, Level03 Distribution, and 5 Star Games, while all other territories will continue to be managed by Sega's European headquarters in London.

The move comes after an announcement earlier in the year that Sega was halving its expected revenue, predicting losses of $86.4 million. It also cancelled several unnamed titles in response to the "rapid change" occurring in the gaming market.

Sega has confirmed that its plans for distribution and promotion of London 2012 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games will not change, and the game will be released as planned at the end of June.