‘Starhawk’ developer Lightbox Interactive sees major layoffs, moving to iOS development

I hate writing stories like these, guys.

Lightbox Interactive, the developer behind the multiplayer-focused Starhawk, has potentially been hit with major layoffs that could sink the entire studio.

That’s according to a tweet by industry veteran George Broussard, who’s most famous for his work on Duke Nukem. While the news can’t be confirmed quite yet, Broussard has leaked layoffs at WB Seattle, THQ and PopCap in the past. So, when the man tweets, it’s best to pay attention.

Good luck to my buddies at LightBox in Austin. Layoffs and rumors of near whole studio gone by Friday 🙁

— George Broussard (@georgeb3dr) October 17, 2012

We can only hope this isn’t true, but we’ll supply information as soon as we know it.

Not much to say about this sad news, but did you enjoy Starhawk? Is it a game that slipped under your radar? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

UPDATE: 

Most of the news has been confirmed, but the studio will remain open and now focus on mobile game development. Sadly, 24 employees have been laid off.

“Layoffs suck,” Lightbox president Dylan Jobe told GiantBomb, “but we’re just shrinking our development team here at LightBox Interactive so we can be very nimble as we self-fund our next game and bring it to iOS devices.”

The developer will no longer be working with Sony, and will now forage ahead in an entirely new space.