NEWS - Thursday, February 10, 2005
Ion Storm Closes
Ion Storm Closes Eidos shutters the house of Deus Ex. By David Adams February 10, 2005 - Having already seen the departure of Harvey Smith and Warren Spector, innovative game studio Ion Storm is now officially closed, according to a brief statement by parent company Eidos today. The closure, which eliminates the 35 jobs at the Austin-based office, is part of Eidos’s move to consolidate its development forces into one studio: Crystal Dynamics in San Francisco. According to an official statement from Eidos, closing Ion Storm "is part of the Company’s move to consolidate and strengthen its technical and management capabilities into a smaller number of studios which are capable of scaling up in order to meet the competitive challenges that lie ahead, particularly in anticipation of next generation technologies and platforms." The "scaling up" may begin soon, as Eidos intends to beef up the staff at Crystal Dynamics with as many as 50 new people, which would bring the studio’s total employee count to more than 180. It is possible that some former Ion Storm employees will relocate to Crystal Dynamics. Ion Storm made waves in 2000, when its Deus Ex title won critical acclaim and a fervent fan-base despite slow initial sales. Studio heads Warren Spector and Harvey Smith helped bring ambitious projects like Thief: Deadly Shadows and Deus Ex: Invisible War to PCs and consoles. Spector, renowned for his innovative game design, left Ion Storm in November 2004Source: http://www.ign.com
