Foundation 9 cuts staff and studios

One of the world’s biggest independent developers is set to make heavy staff and studio cuts in order to remain competitive, according to reports.



Californian indie dev Foundation 9 will shut down its Fizz Factor game studio in Texas, as well as merge its two Washington-based studios Amaze and Griptonite. 



According to a Venturebeat report, the company will also make reductions at Double Helix Games, though this has not been confirmed or denied by the group.



“We can confirm that we recently merged the operations of our two Kirkland studios, Amaze and Griptonite,” said the company in a written statement. 



“Having separate ‘console’ and ‘handheld’ studios under the same roof simply didn’t make sense in light of the convergence in capabilities of modern game hardware. 

"It’s important to F9 to remain a strong and profitable studio, so that we can continue to provide the best possible services to our publishing partners and employees.

“J.C. Connors, studio head of Griptonite, will lead the combined studio. As part of that restructuring, and our normal practice of monitoring business conditions, we made the decision to close our Austin, TX handheld studio, Fizz Factor.”

The fate of the staff at Double Helix Games is unclear. 
Develop has approached F9 for comment.