Following the release of the poorly-reviewed and all-around dismal failure 007 Legends, developer Eurocom has laid off its 42 remaining employees and ceased trading on its stock. An Administrator from Smith Cooper has taken control of the company.
Eurocom issued a statement to Eurogamer, revealing that the company was not able to secure new development contracts in time to pay its employees. From the statement:
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…
…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.
“Exceptional” may be a bit hyperbolic. In its 24 years, Eurocom was best known for porting games to various consoles, as well as developing numerous movie and brand tie-in games. Most recently the company developed the GoldenEye 007 remakes for consoles, Disney Universe, and 007 Legends.
Eurocom is correct that video game development is becoming a much more competitive industry. No matter how many tax credits studios in Sweden or Poland get, however, the game quality will always play a central role in the success of developers.