Level-5, the studio behind titles such as Professor Layton, Ni No Kuni, Yo-Kai Watch and Inazuma Eleven, has ‘virtually halted its operations in North America’ according to a new report.
GamesIndustry.biz reports that both Level-5 International America and the company’s spin-off office, Level-5 Abby, started to scale back its operations last year. Citing “multiple sources familiar with the matter”, the report suggests that this included laying off the majority of staff at both offices, with an estimated number of ten employees being let go at each.
Apparently, no reason for the layoffs was given, but GamesIndustry.biz’s sources say that the employees were “given every indication” that the studio would be closing down, with a much smaller team remaining to finalise any essential work left over.
One source has reportedly said that there are no concrete plans for any more Level-5 games to be released outside of Japan; the last title released in North America was Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl – Gold at the beginning of the year, and while we’ve previously been promised a western localisation for Yo-Kai Watch 4, we’re yet to see anything truly materialise.
Could this be the end for these much-loved franchises outside of Japan? You can read GamesIndustry.biz’s original report here.