Gameloft Auckland, the French mobile game developer's New Zealand studio, has been shuttered at the cost of 160 jobs.

According to New Zealand Game Developers Association chair Stephen Knightly, the studio had been set up 6 years ago with the expectation that it would peak at "maybe a 50 or 60 person team."

Big loss

Its unprecedented growth to over 150 by the time of its closure not only made it the biggest games studio in New Zealand but, according to Knightly, also "shows how well the team performed."

"To me it seems that the decision was driven by the offshore head office rather than being a reflection on the quality of the New Zealand team or their work," he said.

The studio's credits include the likes of Country Friends, My Little Pony, and Silent Ops.

Gameloft Auckland is the latest in a series of Gameloft closures that saw seven of its studios - from Tokyo to Seattle - shuttered in 2015. On the flipside, the French firm established a new studio in Nigeria just last week.

In the aftermath of the news, the New Zealand development community is rallying together in an attempt to offer work to the displaced employees where possible.

[Source: Gameplanet.com.au]