Climax Downsizes Santa Monica Studio

Representatives from British developer Climax have announced that the company is to undergo a period of restructuring and recruitment, which will involve a reduction of staff at the group’s Santa Monica studio. The move comes following the sale of the company’s successful Brighton-based racing development studio, home to the popular MotoGP series, last month. As a result of the sale the Santa Monica studio will lose fourteen staff and come under the direct control of new UK based head of development Simon Gardner. However, the firm’s other two UK studios, based in Hampshire and London, will see a recruitment drive to fill seventy new positions over the next year. The majority of the company’s forthcoming titles are currently unknown, although the company is working on a PSP version of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and movie license Ghost Rider – as well as next generation title Codename: Avalon. “The sale of our Brighton studio has provided the capital needed to become a real player in new-gen and original game development”, said CEO and founder Karl Jeffrey in a statement. "New-gen game development requires incredible focus and the removal of all barriers to your teams creating and communicating effectively. Integrating our management structure in this way and doing more of our development in the UK will allow us to control the production process better."