Rift MMO hit hard by layoffs at Trion

As much as one-third of the development team working on MMO Rift at Trion Worlds was let go on Tuesday, Gamasutra has learned. An affected source tells us that the number of developers out of work today -- developers spanning several disciplines, including artists and designers -- numbers somewhere in the neighborhood of 40. The company confirmed that there were layoffs today "in response to market conditions, product timelines and the natural evolution of our company," though refused to confirm either the number affected or whether it was the Rift team specifically. The first expansion pack for Rift launched just last month. Trion does not share its subscriber numbers (or the sales of expansions such as this), but it may be worth noting that the expansion became accessible for free to lapsed subscribers just one month later as part of a promotion.