Swedish developer Grin, the company behind games like Bionic Commando and Terminator Salvation, has reportedly laid off “significant” numbers of employees and may be facing closure.
Grin was rumored to be hit with heavy layoffs earlier this year and Gamasutra now says that the company actually pulled the plug on its offices in Barcelona, Spain and Gothenburg, Sweden as far back as June of this year, closures which apparently went unreported by the English-language press. Now it seems that Grin’s main office in Stockholm is also in trouble, with sources claiming that employees have been told to stay home and that the studio may be in the middle of “some kind of closing or bankruptcy procedure.”
Grin’s sinking fortunes stem from the games Bionic Commando, Wanted: Weapons of Fate and Terminator Salvation, all of which were released in 2009 to “mixed” critical reception and sub-par sales.
Prior to that, Grin’s cachet had risen steadily through games like Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and Advanced Warfighter 2, and the 2008 Bionic Commando remake Bionic Commando Rearmed. In fact, prior to this year Grin’s star appeared to be on the rise: Grin Barcelona was only opened in 2007 while the Gothenburg facility was even newer, opening its doors in January 2008.
We’re awaiting an official response from the company on its status and will update when we have more.
