Yesterday, rumors started about the CEO of Atomic Studio leaving the company after the controversy surrounding their game, Six Days in Fallujah. An e-mail today from the developer confirms that things are indeed troubled. Due to problems securing money due to the controversy, troubled economy, and lack of game sales during the summer, some of the company's 75 staff members have been laid off. No exact number was given, and when reached for details the developer didn't divulge additional information.

The email is below. Some of the people who were laid off are now looking for jobs, so if you're in the market for some new employees to make your pseudo-controversial game it looks like there's no better way than to pick a few up.

MEDIA ALERT

Due to a mixture of fears about the edgy subject matter of Six Days in Fallujah, as well as low videogame sales this summer, we have been unable to secure full-scale funding from a major publisher for Six Days in Fallujah. This has caused us to reduce the size of our studio today.

In the words of Marine officer Chesty Puller, "We're surrounded. That simplifies the problem." Development at Atomic will continue with a smaller team that will be funded by our sister company, Destineer.

We wish to assure the dozens of Marine veterans who have collectively invested hundreds of hours in this project that, while we have been badly wounded, we will fight on. The stories of your brothers' courage and sacrifice in Fallujah must be shared with the world.

All of the 75 people in the Atomic studio have stayed with us until this week. This is a testament not just to their commitment to Six Days in Fallujah, but also to their character when faced with adversity and personal financial risk. We encourage videogame development studios wishing to speak with the many talented and loyal staff who are affected by this situation to contact the jobs page on the atomic.com web site.