Massive layoffs have hit the staff of Hibernum Creations.
GamsIndustry.biz confirmed today that Montreal-based mobile game developer Hibernum Creations has laid off the majority of its staff as the company goes through a “transitional period”. This information came to light after a former Hibernum employee claimed that the entire staff of over 100 employees had been let go. In 2014, Hibernum Creations’s studio staffed 155 people. There were also plans to add another 150 employees over the course of 2015 and 2016 after a $5 million injection of funding from Investissement Quebec.
“The company is currently going through a transitional period where it has begun to sell its assets to various potential partners,” a representative said today. “Our hearts go out to all our dedicated employees and their families during this transitional phase. Key personnel that remain will make all efforts to keep as many projects alive and as many personnel employed as we find permanent homes for our existing projects,” said a representative for Hibernum Creations.
The Canadian developer Hibernum Creations was founded in 2004. The studio is best known for their work on mobile titles such as Beauty and the Beast: Perfect Match, a puzzle game developed in partnership with Disney. Hibernum Creations was also asked by WB Games Montreal to create the in-game cinematic scenes for Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition, released on the Wii U in 2012. Outside of development, Hibernum has worked on multiple Assassin’s Creed projects, helping Ubisoft to market each title with key artwork.
With these recent layoffs its unclear what will happen to Hibernum Creation’s casual games division, QuickByte Games. Formed earlier this year, Quickbyte Games is already becoming well-known for their latest mobile title, Laps – Fuse. After releasing earlier this month, Laps – Fuse has already gone on to receive over 1 million downloads in its first week on the mobile market.
