13 Feb

The Salt Lake Tribute reports that Twisted Metal-developer Eat Sleep Play has laid off 8 employees recently and will be reshifting its focus towards mobile titles. At the same time, co-founder David Jaffe has announced that he will be leaving the company in order to set up a new studio in San Diego. More details are included after the jump.

The new studio that Jaffe, the director behind the Twisted Metal series and the first two God of War installments,will be setting up in San Diego will also be focusing on mobile games. According to IndustryGamers, Jaffe has assured his fans that even though he will be working on mobile titles, he has “zero plans to make games like Farmville and Angry Birds.” For the next few months, however, he will remain at Eat Sleep Play to provide post-launch support for the latest Twisted Metal title, which is hitting store shelves tomorrow. As for his reason to leave the Salt Lake City-based developer, Jaffe indicates that he misses the day-to-day of working with a team at a studio, as he is currently based in San Diego.

Scott Campbell, one of the other Eat Sleep Play co-founders, will remain at the company. Speaking to the Salt Lake Tribute, he explained the reason why the studio is refocusing its attention on the mobile market:

“It’s a platform that is in our pockets almost 24/7. It’s kind of the size and types of games we’re playing. You can certainly reach a lot more people. That’s pretty exciting for us.”

Though Jaffe and the team that has worked on the Twisted Metal franchise are parting ways, do you expect we’ll be seeing a new Twisted Metal game for mobile device any time soon? Or do you think this is the end of the franchise? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!