Disney confirms layoffs at game division

[January 26, 2011]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Walt Disney Co. is confirming layoffs amid a restructuring of its video game division, a money-losing unit that is focusing more on mobile and social games and away from expensive-to-produce console games.

The company didn't specify the number of people affected, however.

Last week, Disney closed Propaganda Games, the console-game studio behind "Tron: Evolution" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned."

Propaganda, founded and then bought by Disney in 2005, was housed in a 30,000-square foot facility in downtown Vancouver.

Disney also laid off some people at its Junction Point studio in Austin, Texas, on Monday. That studio was responsible for creating the console game "Epic Mickey."

Disney says the restructuring was "part of setting a strategic direction for future success in the digital media space."

[Associated Press]

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