Slant Six games–responsible for Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and several SOCOM titles–has lain off several employees from its Vancouver studio.

The independent studio hopes that the cut backs are only temporary, and plans are in place to rehire the workers when things pick-up. ”Regretfully, we can confirm that there have been some temporary layoffs at our studio,” a spokesperson told GameSpot. “We must stress that these are temporary layoffs, which means we are working very hard on new business prospects so we can reinstate every single person affected. As an independent and close-knit studio it is a very difficult but necessary business measure due to the current project cycle demands.”

These lay-offs appear to be a result of the quiet time that affects most studios after a major release. The plan is to rehire everyone once a new game is in development–how long this will be though is anyone’s guess. Based on the poor reception that Operation Raccoon City received, I’m not expecting publishers to be welcoming their ideas with open arms any time soon.

It’s always sad to see developers hit with lay-offs, hopefully this is just a minor set-back and someone will offer the team a second chance. Either way we wish those affected the best of luck in finding new work.