Just a few days ago, THQ announced that their cinematic first-person shooter Homefront had shipped 2.6 million units, and the future of the franchise was looking bright. It may come as a bit of a shock, then, that the studio has announced the closing of Homefront and Frontlines developer Kaos Studios, and that Homefront 2 will be developed by a newly expanded THQ Montreal.
Kaos Studios was one of New York City's only major development studios. America's largest city has long been considered unfriendly to game development due to high overhead and a relatively low concentration of experienced game developers. It is unclear if these considerations were factors in THQ's decision to shift resources to Canada's booming game development capitol. THQ has said Kaos employees would likely be given the opportunity to move to the Montreal studio, supporting the notion that location concerns were the primary motivator for the studio's closure rather than the quality of the production itself.
Kaos Studios will be best remembered for their excellent multiplayer experiences, dating back to Desert Combat and including the excellent online component of Homefront. Hopefully its talented staff land safely and keep what little game industry the city has alive.
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