Auran goes into voluntary administration, entire staff let go
Sad news for the Australian games industry. GameSpot has the scoop on Auran, the Aussie developers of Fury, going into voluntary administration (meaning an independent and qualified party will take complete control of the company to attempt to resolve financial difficulties in the best manner possible). From here, subject to a meeting with the company's creditors, they will either be restructured or liquidated. But one thing is a certainty: all staff members, nearly 70 employees, have been laid off.
An anonymous company insider confirmed all of this with GameSpot, and also informed them that a handful of employees will be re-hired to look after Fury, which will remain online despite the ruinous situation at Auran. The first of the shakeups had already begun with yesterday's announcement of the new free-to-play business model, and the CEO Tony Hilliam had previously confirmed that some lay-offs would be made. It turns out now that with this voluntary administration, everyone was let go, and for all of the staff except the few re-hires, their involvement with the game and the company is over.
Fury reportedly cost $13.2 million to make, and it's pretty safe to say that the investors were not happy with their return.
