Hudson Restructuring To Focus On Social Games

As it prepares to shut down its North American office and fully join Konami, Hudson Soft intends to cut staff to support a shift in focus to creating games for social networking services. Japanese developer and publisher Konami announced its purchase of a 100 percent stake in the company in January, and will complete the transaction next month. Hudson has already seen major changes as a result of the takeover, including the imminent closure of its U.S. subsidiary. And at a shareholder meeting today, it was revealed that Hudson will shed around 40 employees at its Japanese operations in April through a voluntary redundancy program, according to Andriasang. Volunteers for the program will receive severance, job placement assistance, and other bonuses. Konami already has a slight presence on Facebook, having released titles based on its popular franchises on the social network, such as Frogger and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Challenge. It also released its first original social game on Facebook, Viva! Mall, three months ago. At the end of the month, Hudson Soft CEO Michihiro Ishizuka will step down, replaced by Konami's digital division CEO Kazuhiko Uehara.