Layoffs follow shutdown of Kabam social game Imperium: Galactic War

Kabam's social web game Imperium: Galactic War is shutting down, leading to layoffs of 23 employees at Kabam's Austin, TX studio, according to a source familiar with the situation. The layoffs come as Kabam continues to hinge the majority of its business on mobile games. Kabam corporate communications VP Steve Swasey confirmed the layoffs in a phone call Thursday, but said the office is still operational. "Kabam in Austin is open and doing business as usual for customer experience and live operations," he said. Swasey did confirm though that all game development at the studio is now gone. Our source said the layoffs include 20 developers, two QA employees and a community manager. Swasey said even though 70 percent Kabam's revenues come from mobile, 30 percent still comes from web games. "Facebook is still very important to Kabam," he said. Kabam has over 650 employees worldwide, said Swasey, and is growing despite the layoffs. "One game is not being continued, and it does affect that game team," he said. Imperium was the lone game being developed in at Kabam Austin. Around 45 employees remain at the Austin studio working on player experience, live operations and business operations, he said. "Games have to be able to show promise and show future. If a game doesn't, then we discontinue it. That's not atypical of games companies," said Swasey "… It's sad, but you need games that are continually hits."