Casual Dev WildTangent Closes Internal Studio, Cuts Staff

Redmond-based casual-oriented web game company WildTangent has closed its internal development team WildTangent Game Studios, resulting in layoffs of about 20 percent -- or 20 employees -- from its overall workforce. The news was reported by Seattle-area site TechFlash, and corroborated by Gamasutra's own development sources. Furthermore, Gamasutra has learned from those sources that company co-founder Alex St. John has stepped down from his role as CEO, but will retain his chairmanship. This is reflected in the company's official site, which now lists St. John as "chairman and co-founder," with Mike Peronto listed as CEO. Peronto previously served as COO, a role not mentioned on the page. St. John had served as CEO since the company's inception in 1998, and was noted as holding that position as recently as last month. He has become notorious for continually predicting the impending death of dedicated game consoles at the hands of digital distribution. Despite the development cut, WildTangent will continue its publishing efforts, which comprise the vast majority of the company's business. According to a spokesperson quoted by TechFlash, WildTangent Game Studios' output declined to the point that it had only produced three games in the past two years.