Earlier this year, we learned that Capcom Vancouver had been hit with layoffs as the studio struggled to make headway with future projects. At the time, it was said that work on Dead Rising 5 had begun but today, Capcom officially shut down the studio, cancelling multiple projects.
Yesterday during an earnings report, Capcom revealed that it had cancelled several projects at its Vancouver studio, resulting in a $40 million loss. Later that evening, the whole studio was closed, affecting 158 current employees. So far, 50 developers have already left while those remaining will be staying on until January as things get finalised. This could also mean that some of the work will be salvaged and moved over to one of Capcom's other studios.
Capcom Vancouver was best known for the Dead Rising series, which was a huge hit in the Xbox 360 era but has struggled this generation. In a statement given to GI.biz, Capcom said that it is “focused on increasing the efficiency and growth of its game development operations”. The publisher also added that it will “concentrate development of major titles in Japan” going forward.
KitGuru Says: I always liked the Dead Rising series but I think dragging it out this generation may have been a mistake. It would have been nice to see Capcom Vancouver work on something else for a while. I'm sure we'll hear a bit about what was going on behind closed doors following the studio's closure.