Brash Entertainment in trouble

It's been a bad year for Brash Entertainment. The upstart publisher has seen its slate of games based on movie and TV properties such as Jumper and Alvin & The Chipmunks stagnate at retail, while losing a cofounder in May and another last month.

Even with that reduced executive headcount, Brash apparently is having trouble making ends meet. Variety is reporting that the company laid off 20 employees this week and is looking to unload games in development to other publishers and return licenses to their rights holders. Although Brash raised $400 million in funding, the Hollywood trade paper reports that Brash has been able to use only part of that money, and now finds itself in a cash crunch.

Despite the hard times, Brash still has games on the way. The publisher said that it was still planning to release Six Flags Fun Park next month, and the game adaptation of the horror film Saw next year.

That leaves a handful of other projects up in the air. According to Variety, the previously teased Factor 5 game the publisher had up its sleeve was based on DC Comics' Superman. Other games reportedly in development include Tale of Desperaux, Prison Break, Night at the Museum 2, Clash of the Titans, and 300.

[UPDATE]: A Brash Entertainment representative confirmed for GameSpot that the company will be laying off "over 20" employees across all departments.