Namco Bandai's decision to merge its digital business with the rest of its development in the US back in August made sense for many, giving its mobile output an equal footing with its online and PC operations.

The lay offs that are set to follow, however, will be less welcome, with VentureBeat reporting that the firm is set to let up to 90 employees, mainly from its San Jose office, where much of its mobile development occured.  

Tapping up the talentIt is, according to the firm's marketing veep Carlson Choi, part of an attempt to streamline its business and make it more efficient.

Quite bluntly, Choi believes the staff they are letting go cannot offer Namco Bandai the skills it can find by partnering with thirdparties.

"We are partnering with external development studios out there because that is where the game business is going," Choi told the site.

Internal development across all social platforms, including mobile, web, iOS, PC and consoles, will be centralised in Namco's main Japanese office. 

Changing tact

The merger between Namco Bandai Games and Namco Networks in the US was pitched as a move designed to free up talent from within the company's own innards.

Indeed, at the time, Bandai Namco Games president and CEO Kenji Hisatsune said the merger would specifically tap into the "deep pools of talent and resources" within the firm, broadening the publisher's appeal as a result.

[source: VentureBeat]