Rare Suffers Layoffs

[Shawn Zipay]

Following the launch of Kinect Sports Rivals, developer Rare has reportedly suffered from some layoffs. Parent company Microsoft confirmed there was a "change to our development process and methodology at Rare" but did not disclose any actual reason for the layoffs.

Eurogamer notes that about 16 employees were let go from the company. In comparison, the entire Kinect Sports Rivals team included roughly 150 employees. So while it wasn't a huge number of people it's never a good thing when [I]any/I] layoffs have to happen.

"At Xbox, our goal is to constantly create new fun, social and interactive entertainment experiences," read a company statement. "As part of Rare's commitment to this goal, we have made a decision to change our development process and methodology at Rare to best support our future projects, this has led to us reviewing the skills and the makeup of our development teams in our business. Rare continues to invest in our people and future projects."