PixlBit

Answers why the cutbacks occurred, and whether or not they'll impact future titles.

Yesterday it was reported that Harmonix terminated 39 of their employees, effectively cutting their staff by 13 percent.

This layoff, according to publisher MTV, can be blamed by overstaffing, since the Q&A support positions were only implemented for titles releasing during 2009. With 2009 coming to an end, the need for those positions was no longer necessary. In the future, Harmonix will be switching to a "combination of temporary/part time help, outsourcing and support from external partners -- which is in line with how other game developers manage their QA departments."

When asked by Joystiq whether or not this reorganization was in fact due to sales of their latest title, Beatle Rock Band, a Harmonix/MTV Games spokesperson replied, " "No. This was a process and business decision unrelated to the performance of any MTV Games / Harmonix product. MTV Games and Harmonix are very pleased with the sales of our Rock Band titles and we expect to continue to see strong sales throughout the holidays across all of our titles. The Beatles: Rock Band has sold over 1 million units worldwide to date. Again, the reason for the restructuring is due to better aligning our staffing to best suit our product development plans and schedules moving forward."

Regardless of the change in their internal structure, Harmonix assures the gaming community that none of their future projects will be affected by the switch.