Mobile game developer The Playforge has cut some of its staff and plans to step away from developing new games, according Inside Mobile Apps. This means the creator of the Zombie Farm and Tree World series will be largely relegated to providing life support to its existing franchises. "We have decided to focus our development at Playforge studio around our most popular franchises, Zombie Farm and Tree World and will continue to support those games. We have nothing more to add at this time," company President Jack Sorensen told Dice News. But in his comments to Inside Mobile Apps, Sorensen confirmed that the game developer had initiated some layoffs but was not shutting down its studio. The moves come just a little over a year after Saban Brands acquired the company, and a couple of months after the release of Zombie Farm Battles. Released in August, the free-to-play card battle game debuted to lackluster reviews. Gamezebo, for example, called it "easy-to-play, but not fun-to-play."

Saban Buyout

When Saban acquired Playforge for an undisclosed price, the developer held out high hopes for what the future would hold. According to Playforge's blog post on the acquisition:

To date we have been tightly operating as a small independent studio under 30 people spread between four games live on the App Store plus several unreleased games in development. Because we’re a small team, occasionally we have to make tough choices in supporting all our games equally. It’s been a fun challenge with the team all wearing multiple hats and jumping in wherever the need is greatest, but we know we could do much much more if we found the right partner.  What is wonderful about this new partnership is that Playforge will continue to operate as our own studio and continue making world class games, but now with the addition of a brands giant who has one of the strongest media and merchandising arms in the world.  How great would it be if there was Zombie Farm merchandise out there someday… What this means for you is an even greater commitment to quality, fun, and support, something that sets our studio apart from the rest. This also means we will be coming out with new games more often, and have a re-invigorated focus on our current games.

Just a month before the acquisition, Playforge cut approximately 40 percent of its staff, or roughly 20 people, due to an uptick in costs, according to Inside Mobile Apps. Additionally, its revenues were feeling the effects from a poor performance from some of its titles. Image: Playforge