Starhawk developer Lightbox lays off 75% of its staff

Makes move toward iOS, away from Sony

“And yeah, its time for another drink…” Dylan Jobe, president of Lightbox Interactive, posted on Twitter, Tuesday.

Sony made a gamble when it invested in Lightbox Interactive to make a competitive multiplayer shooter called Starhawk. After mixed reviews and less than stellar sales, it’s fair to say that Sony nor Lightbox struck it big with this PS3 title.

Now, layoffs are striking the Austin, Texas developer: 24 of its 32 person staff are no longer with the company. In response, the developer is switching gears to mobile game development. Lightbox will not be making future updates to Starhawk, though Jobe hints that he may personally invest to get the current work uploaded.

“The reason for the layoffs is a strategic shift in our product development as we move forward with a very focused and self-funded team to bring our next game to iOS devices,” Dylan Jobe told Gamasutra.

Jobe has had a strong presence on Twitter, promoting Starhawk and interacting with its community. However, he’s gone quiet the last couple of days.

“Right now, I’m focusing on making sure the team members I’m laying-off are as prepared as possible to find good jobs,” Jobe told Giant Bomb. “There will be a time for PR on our iOS game–but now is not that time.”

[Gamastura via ScrewAttack, Giant Bomb]