As part of a “strategic decision to reduce costs and streamline its global workforce,” Sony Online Entertainment today confirmed that it is significantly scaling back its workforce. SOE is eliminating 205 positions and will close its close its Denver, Seattle and Tucson studios.

While SOE’s oft-delayed MMO The Agency was finally gearing up for a release this year, the company says it’s decided to cancel production. Instead, it has opted to delegate the bulk of development resources to a pair of upcoming MMOs based on its popular PlanetSide and EverQuest properties.

On redundancies, SOE notes that “all possible steps are being taken to ensure team members affected by the transition are treated with appropriate concern.” Furthermore, the downsizing will not impact its current online portfolio. Development efforts at the Denver and Tucson studios will be shifted over to SOE’s San Diego headquarters.

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