The Walt Disney Co. is closing the Bellevue, Wash., game studio that was responsible for developing video games in the “Marvel: Avengers Alliance” series, cutting 61 jobs in the process.
Disney confirmed the closure this evening as part of a larger round of 250 job cuts in its consumer products and digital media unit. The company is shifting from a strategy of developing games internally to licensing its franchises for games built by third-party game development firms, a Disney spokesman said.
The original “Marvel: Avengers Alliance” game was developed as a Facebook game and had a successful four-year run. Earlier this year, the Bellevue studio launched a sequel, “Marvel: Avengers Alliance 2,” for mobile devices, but that follow-up did not meet the company’s expectations.
The game was shut down earlier this month, leading to the closure of the Bellevue studio, which was a self-contained studio that worked solely on the “Marvel: Avengers Alliance” franchise.