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Eurocom, the British developer behind the recent James Bond titles, has closed.
The studio, which laid off 150 staff members last month, ceased trading this morning following a “severe cash flow shortage” after failing to secure expected development contracts.
42 staff were left at the studio following last month’s wave of redundancies. They were each let go this morning.
“Today Dean Nelson, from Midlands business advisory firm Smith Cooper, was appointed Administrator of Eurocom Developments Limited, who have been experiencing financial difficulties due to expected contracts being delayed, which has resulted in a severe cash flow shortage,” read a statement from the firm (via Eurogamer).
“Since 2008, there has been a steep decline in the sales of Console and PC games, which has led to a severe contraction in the number of new games being commissioned from global publishers of entertainment software. The company has also faced intense competition from developers in countries with lower costs or those subsidised with generous games tax credits.
“As a result of pressure from HMRC, the directors of Eurocom filed a Notice of Intention to Appoint an Administrator at Court in order to allow time for attempts to save the Eurocom business. The Administrator and the company’s directors have been negotiating with customers surrounding new contracts to develop console games, however these contracts could not be secured in time and due to insufficient funds to pay outstanding wages, Eurocom today entered Administration.”
It continued: “The Directors of Eurocom would like to offer their heartfelt thanks to all their staff that have been made redundant at this difficult time, and show their appreciation of all of their hard work in consistently delivering exceptional games.”
Eurocom, based in Derby, was founded in October 1988. The studio started out by creating NES, SNES and Game Boy titles, including James Bond Jr, Lethal Weapon and Dino Dini’s Soccer, and made a name for itself developing licensed products.
The studio became particularly famous for its use of the James Bond license, handling N64 shooter The World Is Not Enough, PS2 game James Bond 007: Nightfire and GoldenEye 007 on Wii.
It’s most recent game, 007 Legends, failed to impress critics or fans, debuting in the UK Top 40 at no. 12, before tumbling further down the charts in the weeks that followed. It’s due for release on Wii U early next year.
Source: Eurogamer
