Report: Whore of the Orient faces uncertain future, studio layoffs
Whore of the Orient, the next game from the makers of L.A. Noire, looks to be in jeopardy following multiple reports of its team being laid off by Kennedy Miller Mitchell. MCV Pacific, Kotaku, and Player Attack sources say KMM has shuttered the Whore of the Orient division; KMM absorbed the remnants of L.A. Noire developer Team Bondi in 2011.
KMM partner Doug Mitchell didn't comment on the reports when speaking to MCV, but noted the company is still "actively pursuing the right investor to partner with" on Whore of the Orient.
Online sleuth supereroregatory dug up a blog post, now deleted, by a purported partner of a KMM staff member which indicated Warner Bros pulled out from the game in December 2012, and that any new deal with a new publisher, expected to happen this month, "would come too late."
As Kotaku notes, KMM Interactive, the company's games division, advertised for a Lead Engine Programmer as recently as April 5, raising doubts over the Whore of the Orient team being laid off so soon after. In any case, without a partner to invest in it, the game's future is in doubt. If it does come out, rumors suggest the earliest we'll see it is 2015.
