The Secret World delayed by layoffs at Funcom

To cut costs, the Norwegian developer is dismissing 20 percent of its staff. As a result, the development of mmog The Secret World will be delayed for several months. Funcom moves production to Canada.

The Norwegian Funcom is trying to cut costs. This is much needed, because the developer suffered a loss of $34 million in 2008. This year, the loss was limited to 1.2 million dollars, but the company is still forced to intervene. Therefore sends Funcom is moving home 20 percent of its workforce and moving the development studio where the company’s games are made to Canada, where it opened a facility earlier this month. There, the government provides a subsidy of 35 percent on wage costs. Because wages in Canada are already lower than in Norway, Funcom thinks it can cut wage costs in half. The layoffs therefore mainly occur in Norway itself, where most of the company’s 300 employees work. Funcom also has smaller branches in China, Switzerland and the US. The company has offered a relocation scheme to the remaining staff of the Norwegian branch.

The layoffs and the move of production to Canada has consequences for the production of The Secret World, the mmog that Funcom is developing. While Funcom hasn’t announced when the mmog will be released, Norwegians now think the move means production will be delayed for months. Whether the move will also affect the development of Rise of the Godslaye, the expansion for Funcom’s mmog Age of Conan, is unknown.

Video (SecretWorld_Trailer02.mp4)