Obsidian Hit With Layoffs [UPDATE]

After a less than proficuous year, Obsidian Entertainment has apparently undergone some strategic replanning, leading to the layoff of "20-30 employees from all disciplines" according to an anonymous source speaking to Joystiq.

The developer failed to make significant sales with its last two releases, Alpha Protocol and Dungeon Siege III, and reportedly recently suffered the cancellation of a yet unknown next-gen product.

News of the cuts slowly ebbed out through the official Obsidian forums, and tweets from ex-staffers who took to the internet to lament the final, and possibly expected, loss of their positions.

"Fellow Obsidianites who were laid off today...I was lucky, but I've been on the other end of that. Your talents will take you far! #keepgoin" - Andre Nguyen's Twitter

"So long, Obsidian. It was a great 3.5 years. I'll miss everyone :-(" - Jason Fader's Twitter

And though news of layoffs at a development studio is never completely unexpected, it should be noted that these particular layoffs don't come at the end of a regular development cycle, where new hires utilized to finish a game are no longer needed once that game has shipped. Rather, these particular firings seem to be a symptom of larger problems at the studio as a whole. Hopefully Obsidian can muscle through.

[Sources: CVG, Joystiq, Obsidian's Forums]

Updated for accuracy on 03/16/2012