PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Developer Hit With Layoffs

Superbot Entertainment, the developer responsible for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, the Super Smash Bros-esque brawler that was one of Sony's highest profile releasess for the PS3 and PSVita this past holiday season, has been hit with layoffs.

According to the statement that was provided to Polygon, issued by Sony Computer Entertainment America:

"SCEA can confirm that SuperBot Entertainment did make a reduction in their workforce today," the statement reads. "The studio and SCEA remain committed to supporting PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale post launch, including developing the title's forthcoming DLC releases in the coming months. The first character pack (including Kat from Gravity Rush and Emmett Graves from Starhawk) will be available for download on Feb. 12 and will be free for the first two weeks. We'll be sharing news of additional upcoming content soon."

Word of the layoffs first began circulating earlier this afternoon, in the form of a tweet from Mike Birkhead of Insomniac Games:

"Layoffs at SuperBot. When it rains, it pours."

He later indicated that the number of people let go was in the neighborhood of 20.

Many are speculating the reasons behind the move; up until recently, the studio was in the process of expanding, so it appeared that all was well within Superbot. Perhaps their game did not catch on as Sony had hoped?