“As is typical with game development, our team sizes have always fluctuated over the course of the development cycle.  As Rockstar San Diego transitions from the launch of Red Dead Redemption onto future projects, we are realigning our resources in order to continue to develop games as effectively as possible."  That’s secret game industry code for “We just laid off a bunch of people.” 

The aforementioned euphemism was delivered by Steve Martin, Studio Manager at Rockstar San Diego, and was in response to substantiated rumors about the studio laying off approximately 40 people less than two months after the release of Red Dead Redemption.  Despite multiple delays and some complaints about Rockstar SD’s working conditions, RDR received excellent reviews and has shipped over two and a half million units to date.  This, however, was apparently not enough to save these creators’ jobs; a trend that, disturbingly, is becoming more and more prevalent. 

Martin assured that the studio is  “ensuring that all employees who are affected by these changes are being treated with care,” and that while the idea of a sequel to Red Dead Redemption is still uncertain, the remainder of the team is currently at work on new DLC for the game.