Jagex lays off Transformers Universe devs

Cambridge-based developer Jagex has laid off 13 staff from its Transformers Universe development team.

Confirming the news to Eurogamer, a Jagex spokesperson said the redundancies would not adversely impact the game, and that the vast majority of the team was unaffected.

A source “close to the matter” however has claimed that there are concerns surrounding the quality of Transformers Universe, and the studio is being pressured to release the MMO by the end of the year.

"Having reviewed the remaining work required for the upcoming Transformers Universe launch we have made the decision to scale the development team back slightly,” read a statement from Jagex.

"We have always been committed to developing the highest quality games and services and are confident that this reduction will not adversely impact the game The vast majority of the Transformers studio will be unaffected by this move. On a positive note a significant portion of the talent potentially effected have already been reallocated to support the upcoming release of RuneScape 3 in HTML5 and the RuneScape 3 on tablets project slated for the end of the year.

“Regrettably we have not been able to find suitable roles for 13 members of the team who will be leaving the studio later this month. We will be revealing more details about the game on www.transformersuniverse.com shortly."

Last week Jagex claimed that it had had its most successful year to date, and saw turnover rise above £50 million for the first time in the studio’s history.