The guys from Big Huge Games must have thought they got a break.
After their parent company, 38 Studios, went through an embarrassing public imbroglio and bankruptcy, the former Big Huge Games employees thought they had found a savior when they got hired by "Gears of War" and "Unreal" engine creator Epic Games. They were hired to work for Impossible Studios on the upcoming sequel to the iOS hit game, "Infinity Blade". Everything was looking up.
Until today, that is. Epic announced that it is closing Impossible Studios. "When former members of Big Huge Games approached Epic last year, we saw the opportunity to help a great group of people while putting them to work on a project that needed a team,” Epic Founder Tim Sweeney recalls in a blog post on the Epic website. “It was a bold initiative and the Impossible folks made a gallant effort, but ultimately it wasn’t working out for Epic.”
Now the developers from Big Huge Games are right back where they started. They're down and out without jobs and uncertain about their futures. The project they were working on, "Infinity Blade: Dungeons", has been placed on hold as Epic "figures out the future of the project".
However, unlike what happened to them when 38 Studios folded, Epic is not letting the guys go without recompense. Mr. Sweeney further stated in the blog posting that the Impossible Studios employees will be getting three months severance pay as well as the rights to use the name and graphic, a bear with wings, in future endeavors or as a new company.
This setback is part of a growing list of issues that have recently arisen at Epic Games. Last month Epic wunderkind Cliff Bleszinski left the publisher to pursue other opportunities. Shortly after that Mike Capps stepped down as President of the company.
On the plus side Epic did win its years long court battle against "Too Human" developer Silicon Knights.
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