FEB. 29, 2008 • Eidos parent SCi is undertaking a radical restructuring of its operations in order to reduce costs as much as £14 million annually. Revenue for the six months ending Dec. 31 were down £73 million, while operating costs for the period had grown £81.4 million compared to 2006. The plan includes cutting 25% of staff to a maximum of 800, as well as canceling 14 game projects. Development decision making will become more decentralized with individual studios taking on more responsibility. In addition, casual gaming and new media will now be under the Eidos Play brand. One of the biggest changes for the company is moving production services, quality assurance and localization operations from London to Montreal.
Impact: SCi Eidos has been the subject of merger speculation for quite some time. In January it was announced that acquisition talks had ended because the company could not receive an adequate valuation. Since that time shareholders have forced a major management change. It is clear that restructuring Eidos will be a difficult task.
