Gusto makes over a quarter of staff redundant

Oxford-based independent Gusto Games has made “between a quarter and a third” of its staff redundant, the studio has confirmed to develop.

Yesterday 14 staff were handed their notice, the spokesperson said, while another three were said to have left voluntarily.

It was suggested by a Gusto spokesperson that the layoffs were unpreventable as a publishing partner moved release dates for one of the studio’s current projects.

This, in turn, was said to have stretched the studio’s budgets – with redundancies a necessary adjustment.

In 2009 Gusto closed a studio in Derby, leaving the Oxford studio its only base.

Gusto is now embarking on a studio transition – from a developer of ‘old guard’ retail games to one that will engage in smaller and potentially more cost-effective digital and mobile games.

The studio has recently developed Wii ports of large franchise games, from DJ Hero to Ashes Cricket.