Lay-offs are unfortunately an all too common part of the video game industry, with Twisted Metal developer Eat Sleep Play being the latest team hit with job cuts. Eight of the company's thirty four employees have been cut just as the game finishes production.

Currently, the team is working on a day one patch for Twisted Metal, as well as correcting the issues surrounding the game's recently released multiplayer demo. After that, they're going in a new direction, without the help of David Jaffe.

According to Eat Sleep Play's co-founder Scott Campbell, the team will begin to focus on creating games for mobile platforms, presumably for iPhone. Campbell seems to be genuinely excited to begin development on more "casual" projects, stating that he feels Eat Sleep Play will be able to reach a larger audience.

"It’s a platform that is in our pockets almost 24/7. It’s kind of the size and types of games we’re playing, you can certainly reach a lot more people. That’s pretty exciting for us."

With Twisted Metal all set for a Valentine's Day release date, many fans are certainly wondering whether this means the game will see any post-launch support. Eat Sleep Play's other co-founder, the oft-outspoken David Jaffe, took to Twitter to put these fears to rest.

"Not sure where some folks are getting 2day's news as a sign of no TM support: wha?!? We're totally supporting game post launch with balance tweaking, tuning, and bug crunching. But I've been saying for a YEAR there was no DLC planned. But the team- me included- is still cranking on TM post launch. We're amazingly proud of this game and love the response to the demo. These are 2 different issues. THX! :)"

But what of David Jaffe and his plans now that Eat Sleep Play is going mobile? Scott Campbell said that the duo would be splitting after the launch of Twisted Metal, with Jaffe also interested in working on casual games. But according to Jaffe, while he will be leaving Eat Sleep Play, it will be a few months after Twisted Metal's launch. Afterwards, he plans to form his own studio in San Diego, though whatever projects he works on -whether they be next-gen or iPhone related are still up in the air.

"I am still WITH ESP and have not left and will not leave until we get TM launched and stick around2balance&bug fix&tune (prob another 1.5-3 months). Still being paid with ESP paycheck,etc. But I WILL be leaving2start new game studio. Talking2peeps about some big, huge next gen game ideas I'd love for us2make, as well as cool stuff in the browser space (action oriented, gamer centric)& a few things in between. Once DICE wraps& game launches, it's company building time!Any game devs that want to chat joining a new SD action game co, please gimme a shout! Talk soon! :)"

So, essentially, those planning to pick up Twisted Metal have nothing to worry about, as there will still be post-launch support. What happens after that is more of a mystery, but this doesn't mean that we won't see a sequel to the Twisted Metal reboot, as Jaffe previously mentioned that he would only like to see an online pass in future iterations of the franchise. But what we do know is that any future games in the franchise won't come from Eat Sleep Play.

Twisted Metal launches February 14th exclusively on the PS3.

-

Follow me on Twitter @AnthonyMole

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune, David Jaffe