Trion shuts down its San Diego studio

Update: In an official statement, Trion Sr. Director of Global Communications Katie Uhlman has confirmed the closure of Trion's San Diego studio:

"We can confirm that the San Diego studio will be closing. The day to day operations of Defiance will be moved to our Redwood City studio where it can be managed alongside Rift and our other in development titles including ArcheAge and End of Nations. As part of this transition, we are working hard to ensure that a number of great people will be making the move from San Diego to the Bay Area and continue their work at Trion."

Original: A source tells PC Gamer that Trion Worlds has shuttered its San Diego studio, which was responsible for developing sci-fi MMO Defiance . Former COO Scott Hartsman, who departed the company in January, returned this morning as CEO—our source couldn't confirm whether or not the closure was decided before the management change.

As reported by Gamasutra , Hartsman told employees: "We're going to rapidly be laying the groundwork for a new strategy at Trion—one that's closer to the foundation of how we've had our wins so far, and then extending that base into the enduring success this company can, and will, be."

Trion owns two other studios, its corporate headquarters and Rift development studio in Redwood Shores, CA, and a technology studio in Austin, TX. We've contacted the company for comment.

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Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.