Reykjavik, Iceland-based CCP Games has laid off 56 employees from its studio in Atlanta and cancelled an in-development video game called World of Darkness, the company announced today.
Game Company Behind Eve Series Lays Off 56, Keeps the Tax Break (Updated)
The CCP Games studio where the layoffs took place is now eligible for a tax break of up to $5 million annually.
CCP / World of Darkness
The remaining employees in Atlanta — about 45, according to a company spokesperson — will focus on CCP’s main game franchise, Eve. That long-running series includes an online space simulation game called Eve Online and an in-development virtual reality shooter game, Eve Valkyrie, to be co-published with Oculus VR. World of Darkness was first announced in 2006 and would have let players live as vampires in an online world.
Update: As Gamasutra points out, CCP just got a helping hand from the state of Georgia for having that Atlanta studio in the first place. Governor Nathan Deal just signed into law a bill delivering $25 million in tax breaks to game companies with studios in Georgia, including CCP, Tripwire Interactive and Hi-Rez Studios.
Under the bill, those companies are entitled to receive up to $5 million per year. I’ve reached out to CCP for comment.
Update 2: And here is the official comment, from a CCP spokesperson.
CCP’s decision to end the World of Darkness project was made as part of our regular business process, and was not related to the Georgia Digital Entertainment Tax Credit in any way. The State of Georgia, and in particular the Georgia Economic Development Office, has done an outstanding job to attract and retain video game companies to Atlanta. The tax credit is just one component of the eco-system the State has created, and we are proud to support the Economic Development Office in their efforts. While the World of Darkness project is ending, we still have a development team in Atlanta that will work on new projects, along with marketing, legal, and other global functions for CCP.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
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