Heavy layoffs at F.E.A.R. 3's Day 1 Studios

F.E.A.R. 3 developer Day 1 Studios has announced the dismissal of a significant number of staff following a break with Konami. Sources say the studio, which was working on a reboot of Konami's Silent Scope franchise, was forced to dismiss 95% of that game's development team from its permanent staff after Konami cancelled the game's publishing deal.

Day 1, which has offices in Chicago, IL and Hunt Valley, MD, continues work with a “significantly smaller” team on an undisclosed project, reports GameSpot (via GamaSutra). The studio's work since its 2001 founding includes development of F.E.A.R. 3, as well as collaboration with Monolith Productions on the console versions of the first two F.E.A.R. games. It's also responsible for the two MechAssault titles on the original Xbox, and the Lucas-published third-person shooter Fracture.

While the studio's staff numbered around 140 prior to these layoffs, It's not clear how large the Silent Scope team was – and thus how many of Day 1's staff have been laid off following the game's cancellation.