Despite fairly strong sales of its most recent title, Frontlines: Fuel of War and Homefront developer Kaos Studios evidently had not done enough to justify its continued existence to parent company THQ. Today, the publisher announced that the New York City-based developer had been closed, alongside THQ's UK studio, THQ Digital Warrington.

Despite generally middling reviews, Homefront had, at last tally, sold well over a million units, and THQ had shipped more than 2.6 million to stores. Still, lackluster word-of-mouth did the title few favors past its initial release, and development of the upcoming Homefront sequel has evidently been shifted to THQ's Montreal studio.

THQ had no comment on the reason behind the closure, except to call the move a "a strategic realignment within its internal studio structure." THQ also noted in its press statement that the publisher is currently hiring at its Montreal, Austin, and Vancouver studios, and that anyone affected by the Kaos and Digital Warrington layoffs would have the opportunity to interview elsewhere in THQ.

Kaos' last development efforts on Homefront were on the now unfortunately titled "Fire Sale" map pack, which releases tomorrow.

Despite fairly strong sales of its most recent title, Frontlines: Fuel of War and Homefront developer Kaos Studios evidently had not done enough to justify its continued existence to parent company THQ. Today, the publisher announced that the New York City-based developer had been closed, alongside THQ's UK studio, THQ Digital Warrington.

Despite generally middling reviews, Homefront had, at last tally, sold well over a million units, and THQ had shipped more than 2.6 million to stores. Still, lackluster word-of-mouth did the title few favors past its initial release, and development of the upcoming Homefront sequel has evidently been shifted to THQ's Montreal studio.

THQ had no comment on the reason behind the closure, except to call the move a "a strategic realignment within its internal studio structure." THQ also noted in its press statement that the publisher is currently hiring at its Montreal, Austin, and Vancouver studios, and that anyone affected by the Kaos and Digital Warrington layoffs would have the opportunity to interview elsewhere in THQ.

Kaos' last development efforts on Homefront were on the now unfortunately titled "Fire Sale" map pack, which releases tomorrow.

It's sad that Kaos has closed.

It's happy that I finished this quest. Fair trade? Yes.

Homefront wasnt a bad shooter just an average one. Though I must admit that the shooting felt a little bit off. I actually didnt even finish the game.

KAOS!!

Hey guys homefront didnt do that good, What do?

Uhh you think we should make a sequel?

Maybe

I got it lets can the devs and not give them a second chance and move the sequel to a new dev!

Perfect that makes TON of sense!

So...who didn't see this one coming?

Jokes aside, never a good day when people are losing their jobs.

as much as i didnt care for Homefront, i never like to see people out of work. God Speed.

I hate Homefront and thought it was trash but as Jackel2072 its sad to see people lose their job. However I wonder how much of this had to do with the amount of money poured into Homefront ON TOP of the fact they were located in New York City?

Was a sequel confirmed anywhere or simply hinted at?  I find it doubtful that this would happen with the closing of Kaos.  The game had potential but it seemed to fail trying to satisfy too many users at the same time (which is 100% impossible).  MNC, Breach, HOMEFRONT, Crysis 2, Section 8:Prejudice and BRINK, 2011 is the year of the FPS failure it seems (DNF coming soon?).  PC gamers expect customization options in the form of dedicated server files and mod tools, not one of these games seemed to remember that.

It fucking sucks that one game can destroy a studio. Every fucking time a game bombs now people have to worry about their job. What a fucked up buisness.

Hmm, wonder why?

@www1221 said:

Hey guys homefront didnt do that good, What do?

Uhh you think we should make a sequel?

Maybe

I got it lets can the devs and not give them a second chance and move the sequel to a new dev!

Perfect that makes TON of sense!

Yeah, at this point I'm heavily doubting a sequel.

The real reason Kaos was no longer feasible as a studio: they were located in New York. Way, way too expensive to develop in New York, where the cost of living is so high.

That's too bad. I thought Frontlines had some interesting aspects. Never played Homefront though.

@Origina1Penguin said:

That's too bad. I thought Frontlines had some interesting aspects. Never played Homefront though.

Frontlines was always just a poor man's Battlefield running on Unreal Engine.

Hey guys homefront didnt do that good, What do?

Uhh you think we should make a sequel?

Maybe

I got it lets can the devs and not give them a second chance and move the sequel to a new dev!

Perfect that makes TON of sense!

so Alex moves to NY were one of the developers Homefront a game he reviewed and a gave a mediocre review to, coincidence i think not

I actually thought the multiplayer for Homefront was pretty neat. But, it's always a shame when a studio gets closed.

It never good to read about studios closing. Best of luck to all those people affected by it.

@SeriouslyNow: I never bought the full game. The demo was alright though. I enjoyed Conan (which is a really poor man's God of War) as well as many other "clone" games. I don't need a game to be as good as another to enjoy both.

*sigh* Another day, another development house shutting down. I wonder what the sales expectations were?

I guess we have Activision to thank for saturating the market. Now every single FPS that comes out that is not a COD or Halo will fall on it's ass and that studio will get canned. It's a shame to see peoples work get spat on just because a monopolizing video game series holds the grip on FPS's. I hope MW3 fails, but it wont.

this sucks, how long until studios make a game and get canned instantly only to be rehired if the game is successful. 

I guess even if your game sells well your job is still not safe.

@iAmJohn said:

@www1221

Hey guys homefront didnt do that good, What do?

Uhh you think we should make a sequel?

Maybe

I got it lets can the devs and not give them a second chance and move the sequel to a new dev!

Perfect that makes TON of sense!

Everything I've heard about Homefront's development points to Kaos not being able to deliver and THQ having to outsource the game to other teams really late in the dev cycle. I get where you're coming from, but if that's all true and it wasn't a matter of THQ being incompetent, doesn't it make more sense to give it to the new team they're making headed by the Assassin's Creed guy?

You speak the truth, sir.

@MurderByDeath said:

The real reason Kaos was no longer feasible as a studio: they were located in New York. Way, way too expensive to develop in New York, where the cost of living is so high.

All the development houses in Orange County (Blizzard and Atlus US) say hi.

@bonorbitz said:

*sigh* Another day, another development house shutting down. I wonder what the sales expectations were?

well, looking at the marketing, they were " call of duty killer "

Also, imo the negative reviews focusing on it's pathetic campaign killed this one. I think the multiplayer is on par with the average cod experience. In fact i'm going to be picking up the map pack.

@Meatsim said:

I guess even of your game sells well your job is still not safe.

Game Development bizarrely mirrors Nazi Concentration camp logic.

@Jmangino said:

I guess we have Activision to thank for saturating the market. Now every single FPS that comes out that is not a COD or Halo will fall on it's ass and that studio will get canned. It's a shame to see peoples work get spat on just because a monopolizing video game series holds the grip on FPS's. I hope MW3 fails, but it wont.

Homefront is dire, CoD games are good.

Big difference.

I guess we have Activision to thank for saturating the market. Now every single FPS that comes out that is not a COD or Halo will fall on it's ass and that studio will get canned. It's a shame to see peoples work get spat on just because a monopolizing video game series holds the grip on FPS's. I hope MW3 fails, but it wont.

Homefront is dire, CoD games are good.

Big difference.

lol no surprise there. hope those guys find work soon.

@hurrikenux said:

Was a sequel confirmed anywhere or simply hinted at? I find it doubtful that this would happen with the closing of Kaos. The game had potential but it seemed to fail trying to satisfy too many users at the same time (which is 100% impossible). MNC, Breach, HOMEFRONT, Crysis 2, Section 8:Prejudice and BRINK, 2011 is the year of the FPS failure it seems (DNF coming soon?). PC gamers expect customization options in the form of dedicated server files and mod tools, not one of these games seemed to remember that.

Monday Night Combat came out in 2010 on XBLA and it was pretty well received, actually.

It sold a million copies, but the amount of unit moved is probably weighed against the overhead involved in marketing, which THQ obliged in splurging on TV spots, magazine spreads. The PR also took in the criticisms that the game received and lost faith in the ability of the studio with the mediocre track record to expand and improve upon their intellectual property.

I think THQ put way too much effort in trying to make this game keep up with the "Jones' ". I would have had no problem with them releasing this game as a budget game without any of the stupid marketing (releasing all those balloons in San Francisco) and releasing it for $30 or something.

Business, I'm done trying to make sense of it.

Montreal wins again!! Quebec video game development for the win!

Sad for them, but Homefront (at least the PC singleplayer) was a stealing pile of manure. They were very lucky to get that kind of sales considering the quality of the product.

@hurrikenux said:

Was a sequel confirmed anywhere or simply hinted at? I find it doubtful that this would happen with the closing of Kaos. The game had potential but it seemed to fail trying to satisfy too many users at the same time (which is 100% impossible). MNC, Breach, HOMEFRONT, Crysis 2, Section 8:Prejudice and BRINK, 2011 is the year of the FPS failure it seems (DNF coming soon?). PC gamers expect customization options in the form of dedicated server files and mod tools, not one of these games seemed to remember that.

Monday Night Combat came out in 2010 on XBLA and it was pretty well received, actually.

@Nonentity said:

@MurderByDeath said:

The real reason Kaos was no longer feasible as a studio: they were located in New York. Way, way too expensive to develop in New York, where the cost of living is so high.

All the development houses in Orange County (Blizzard and Atlus US) say hi.

Seriously, how can Atlus of all companies afford to have an office in Irvine?

Business, I'm done trying to make sense of it.

Montreal wins again!! Quebec video game development for the win!

@hurrikenux said:

@SuperSambo said:

Homefront is dire, CoD games are good.

Big difference.

Fanboyism is dire, to each their own but you should be asking yourself if you would buy it no matter the content simply because it says "Call of Duty" on the box. Just like with Guitar Hero, they do not have to do anything ground-breaking feature or content-wise. In addition, PC games get shafted with limited support due to Console gamers that don't seem to know their history (not meant to include quoted poster) buying up anything with a name.

I know what I am going to get with CoD, a decent 6 - 8 hour sp game that is worth playing and a game that my friends will play online. I am not a fan boy, I just enjoy the games.

I won't buy anything with "Call of Duty" on the box, but if people I know are all playing and enjoying a game online then I will buy it regardless of groundbreaking features or content. If I was having a ball playing a game with 1 map and 4 weapons, then it is still worth the money. Games should be judged and entertainment, not features. Sure, they usually go hand in hand, but there are exceptions.

I strayed a little there... But my point still stands. Call Of Duty games are well honed, exciting games that I can easily play 20 hours online without getting bored. It is popular to hate on Call of Duty now, and I can see why some are angry, but as it stands they are great FPS games.

@iAmJohn said:

@Nonentity said:

@MurderByDeath said:

The real reason Kaos was no longer feasible as a studio: they were located in New York. Way, way too expensive to develop in New York, where the cost of living is so high.

All the development houses in Orange County (Blizzard and Atlus US) say hi.

Seriously, how can Atlus of all companies afford to have an office in Irvine?

Erm... by having a small staff?

Blizzard's not a good example. They are a definite exception to the rule.

Fire Sale? Wow, name fail considering the situation.

Never nice to see people lose their jobs, but they were hardly pumping out quality games. So I guess the close comes as no real surprise.

Hope nobody has any trouble finding any work elsewhere, never good to hear about a studio being shut down.

On another note...

(Shame the video is titled so terribly.)

@MurderByDeath said:

@iAmJohn said:

@Nonentity said:

@MurderByDeath said:

The real reason Kaos was no longer feasible as a studio: they were located in New York. Way, way too expensive to develop in New York, where the cost of living is so high.

All the development houses in Orange County (Blizzard and Atlus US) say hi.

Seriously, how can Atlus of all companies afford to have an office in Irvine?

Erm... by having a small staff?

Dude, Irvine's redonk expense. :(

Kaos wasn't that big either, though. Weren't they only, like, forty or fifty people?

@hurrikenux said:

@SuperSambo said:

Homefront is dire, CoD games are good.

Big difference.

Fanboyism is dire, to each their own but you should be asking yourself if you would buy it no matter the content simply because it says "Call of Duty" on the box. Just like with Guitar Hero, they do not have to do anything ground-breaking feature or content-wise. In addition, PC games get shafted with limited support due to Console gamers that don't seem to know their history (not meant to include quoted poster) buying up anything with a name.

I know what I am going to get with CoD, a decent 6 - 8 hour sp game that is worth playing and a game that my friends will play online. I am not a fan boy, I just enjoy the games.

I won't buy anything with "Call of Duty" on the box, but if people I know are all playing and enjoying a game online then I will buy it regardless of groundbreaking features or content. If I was having a ball playing a game with 1 map and 4 weapons, then it is still worth the money. Games should be judged and entertainment, not features. Sure, they usually go hand in hand, but there are exceptions.

I strayed a little there... But my point still stands. Call Of Duty games are well honed, exciting games that I can easily play 20 hours online without getting bored. It is popular to hate on Call of Duty now, and I can see why some are angry, but as it stands they are great FPS games.