Namco Bandai will cut 90 workers in the United States

Approximately 90 employees will lose their jobs with Namco Bandai in the United States. These layoffs are the result of a new direction Namco Bandai is taking to increase its presence in the mobile and digital gaming market. Those being let go do not match the skills Namco Bandai believes is needed for its new business practices.

Namco Bandai is combining Namco Bandai Games America and Namco Networks America into one entity. This new company will now be referred to as Namco Bandai Games America. Under this new structure, developers will focus more on creating games on multiple platforms that take advantage of social networks. If Namco Bandai can carve out a noticeable spot for itself in the social and mobile gaming market, it stands to gain a lot more customers. Namco Bandai can charge little or nothing for its games, and make the majority of its money through digital distribution and microtransactions.

According to Venture Beat, Namco Bandai will develop more games in Japan after the restructuring is complete. This move also contributed to the layoffs.

Expect to see more Namco Bandai games to be released on PC, iOS devices, the web and other mobile devices. Chances are the Android platform is part of the company’s overall plan.

Via [Venture Beat] Read [Pocket Gamer]