‘Extremely humbling’ H2 2015 leads to 50 job cuts at Glu

Glu has admitted that Katy Perry Pop has failed to replicate the success of its Kim Kardashian Hollywood title.

Games Industry reports that CEO Niccolo de Masi has admitted that the second half of last year was extremely humbling” for the company, having failed to capitalise on its colossal Kardashian hit.

"Poor technical decisions coupled with the newly hired team led to all key metrics being below thresholds required for an ROI positive title," he told investors. "Additional development time was not provided due to contractual restrictions as well as the team’s mediocre trajectory."

James Bond: World of Espionage was also a flop, a fact blamed on "creative decisions made in partnership with the licensors to avoid firearms and classic shooter mechanics".

De Masi also admitted that the expansion of its studios was overly-aggressive”, with one of them missing its revenue targets by $50m.

As a result some 50 jobs were cut across Glu’s three studios in December. Glu has indicated that it may continue with the Katy Perry and James Bond licenses, although likely through new projects and not be additions to the current games.

De Masi added that Glu intends to slow the pace at which it signs new celebrity deals, although that didn’t stop it announcing a Taylor Swift partnership earlier today. Recent weeks have also seen agreements penned with Britney Spears and Gordon Ramsey, while other deals exist with the likes of Kylie Minogue and Nicky Minaj.

The CEO confirmed that two further deals are in place – one with a male musician and the other with a female celebrity. Quality control and more vigorous” internal development processes are promised going forwards.

Glu’s Q4 GAAP revenue fell from $72m last year to $61m in 2015. Last year’s $5m income slipped to a $3m loss.

Full year revenue climbed from $223m in 2014 to $250m. 2014’s $2m full-year income fell to a $6.3m loss.