DiRT 4 Stuck in the Mud as Codemasters Cuts Staff

Codemasters' extended emphasis on the PlayStation 3 may be starting to catch up with it, as Eurogamer.net reports that layoffs have hit the legendary British outfit. According to the site, around 50 jobs are being reviewed, with approximately 30 to be made redundant as part of a 30 day consultation period. It sounds like it's the firm's Southam studio that has been hit the hardest.

This team is apparently working on DiRT 4, and will continue to do so with a skeleton squad of around 20 people. According to an unnamed source, programmers and production staff are safe, but it's designers and artists that are standing on uneven ground. The next entry in the developer's rally franchise was set to be announced shortly, but allegedly car licenses have yet to be obtained.

Codemasters Birmingham, which is currently busy on the next-gen iteration of the F1 franchise, is apparently unaffected by these changes, so development on that game – alongside other projects – will continue unobstructed. The publisher hasn't really said a whole lot about the situation, but has confirmed that it's undertaken a "strategic realignment in line with market changes".

"As a result of this review, a small number of roles have been proposed as being at risk of redundancy," a spokesperson said. "Those in potentially affected roles are now involved in a consultation period to discuss the proposal. The proposal does not affect the ongoing production of titles in development and no projects have been cancelled as a result of the proposal."

Naturally, our thoughts go out to all of those affected – but this news doesn't surprise us. It's staggering to think that the company still hasn't released a PlayStation 4 game – especially when late last-gen projects like Toybox Turbos and GRID Autosport could have filled a hole on the Japanese giant's brand new box. Here's hoping that it pulls through and enjoys a more prosperous 2015...