XBL Game Room dev dead on Monday
Krome was once the wizard of Oz.
Xbox Live Game Room didn't take off and now the developer behind it, Krome, is on the verge of collapse.
All staff have been let go and the Brisbane studio - once the biggest in Australia - will shut up shop on Monday, according to a report by Antipodean website Tsumea.
Krome Studios apparently had 400 staff when the credit crunch started chomping. The first exodus was in November 2009 when 60 staff were axed; a further 50 were chopped in April 2010; and in August, an estimated 100-plus were let go.
Game Room was released in the spring 2010 Xbox Live update. Microsoft's big idea was to let people collect old fashioned arcade units - virtual ones - and deck out amusement areas for other Avatars to visit. In reality, implementation was buggy and there were unattractive related costs: 240 MSP for an arcade unit (then free to play) or 40 MSP a play on a non-owned machine.
Retro-head Kristan Reed explored the Game Room service for Eurogamer at launch.
Krome Studios is also responsible for recent download game Blade Kitten, which Eurogamer kissed with 8/10 lipstick. Krome's most recent releases, in chronological order (starting with most recent) were Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Republic Heroes (3/10), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (4/10), Scene It? Box Office Smash (6/10) and Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Lightsaber Duels (2/10) .
What now appears to be Krome's final game, film tie-in Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole for PS3, Wii and Xbox 360, is out next Friday.