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2K Shutting Down Prague Offices And Relocating Mafia II Developer 2K Czech
2K Czech, the developer behind Mafia II, is going through some restructuring.
2K is shutting down its offices in Prague and relocating the 2K Czech team. In a statement issued to Eurogamer, 2K offered the following statement regarding the closing and relocation of the offices:
We have relocated and consolidated our 2K Czech team from our Prague facility to centralise resources in our location in Brno. Additionally, we are transferring some development resources from Prague and Brno to 2K headquarters in Novato, CA.
This transition will both strengthen the integration of the 2K Czech team with our award winning development teams, and better align cross-functional business practices. As part of this realignment, we are adjusting our staffing levels, resulting in the elimination of some positions.
According to 2K's statement above, some jobs are disappearing as a result of the changes. In 2011, forty employees were laid off from 2K Czech with similar motivations that included, "streamlining operations, aligning the business." The studio was rumored to be working on Mafia III.
To read our review of Mafia II, head here.
[Source: Eurogamer, via Games Industry]
Our Take
It's always disappointing to hear about development jobs being lost. Although it's not a studio closing, layoffs are still happening, the extent of which we're still not sure of.
I'm interested to hear what 2K Czech has been working on, and how these changes and a move to a different country will affect the project. The reasonable assumption, and rumor, is that Mafia III is in the works. I'm curious if we will hear more about that game soon, or learn of its cancellation. As a fan of Mafia II, I hope it's the former and not the latter.
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