Report: Factor 5 Officially Closed?

New reports suggest that the entire staff at developer Factor 5 has been laid off, after 35 employees were made redundant last week. Last week Gamasutra was able to confirm that nearly half of the San Rafael, California-based studio's workforce had been let go. The remaining 38 were forced to take pay cuts in order to allow them to remain at the company. According to a report by IGN’s Matt Casamassina, the entire studio may have been forced to close (subscription required). Reproducing part of an e-mail from an “inside source” at the company, the report suggests that the company has already closed. "We just learned from inside sources that developer Factor 5 has officially closed their doors as of today," states the e-mail. "That’s some pretty big news considering that those guys have been around for quite a while. It’s definitely a real shame!" After the critical and commercial failure of Lair, and the reported loss of a three-game contract with Sony, Factor 5’s business was also hit by the troubles surrounding publisher Brash Entertainment. It is currently unclear what projects the Bay Area developer, best known for the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron series, was or is working on.