Lost Planet 3 developer Spark Unlimited no longer making games, lays off employees

Los Angeles-based Spark Unlimited, the developer behind Lost Planet 3, Legendary and Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, is no longer making games and has laid off all of its employees, a former employee of the company told Polygon today.

Spark Unlimited's closure was first noticed by a NeoGAF forum member who spotted the company's assets up for sale on asset liquidation site CMA Auctions.

John Butrovich, chief technical officer at Spark Unlimited, confirmed to Polygon that "it's the end of Spark as a game developer." Principal members of the studio "have decided to move on to other things," Butrovich said, and confirmed that Spark Unlimited co-founder Craig Allen resigned as president and CEO from the company late last year "to pursue other ventures and interests."

Butrovich said that Spark's in-development free-to-play game was canceled, as were other projects at the studio, leading to the company shutting down game development. Spark Unlimited still has ongoing revenue streams, Butrovich said, including a 2014 movie called Nightmare Code that the company produced, which are going to a trustee.

According to Butrovich, it sounds like former Spark Unlimited principals and employees will continue to work together on other projects outside of video games.

Spark Unlimited was founded in 2002, and released its first game, Call of Duty: Finest Hour, in 2004. Its most recent release was last year's poorly received action game Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z.