Rebellion Confirm Derby Closure

Rebellion have confirmed that their Derby studio has now closed. The UK-based developer has been reviewing the studio’s future since the beginning of the year and it has now come to an end with jobs at their Oxford studio also being cut.

The Derby studio was previously known as Eidos’ Core Design Team which brought Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider series to our consoles. Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley has said that success with outsourcing partners has also lead to junior roles at their Oxford studio being axed.

Despite the closure and the job cuts, Rebellion are still hard at work on two unannounced titles for publishing partners and support for Aliens vs Predator. Speaking about that game in particular, Kingsley said:

We’ve been keeping a close eye on the fan forums and on feedback from players and have been busy working on patches and improvements for the game as well as DLC, but we’re also thinking about the potential for a sequel and how we can make it an even better game…

But Rebellion may also start to focus on smaller digital titles. With the success of older games such as the original AvP over digital platforms, they seem keen on taking advantage of that particular area of the market; although working with major publishers is still their main focus.