Sega has allegedly pulled funding from both Obsidian's Aliens RPG and Gearbox's Aliens: Colonial Marines, sources have revealed to Joystiq. Supposedly 20 people were laid off from Obsidian yesterday and more could soon lose their jobs. The layoffs also affected the team working on Alpha Protocol, another Obsidian-developed, Sega-published title. Without the Aliens RPG, Obsidian is apparently on the ropes our sources say.
As for Gearbox, Sega supposedly stopped paying the developer for "a while" to produce Colonial Marines and it's since ceased production on the title. At this point, it's unclear whether Colonial Marines has been "canceled," or simply "halted," which Gearbox president Randy Pitchford – in response to a previous rumor – called an "inaccurate characterization."
This rumor comes less than 24 hours after Sega announced Aliens vs. Predator and refused to answer questions about the previously announced Aliens titles. Sega turning off the money tap wouldn't exactly be shocking, given the company plans to lay off 560 people and has already lost $119 million in the first three quarters of its fiscal year.
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