Earlier today, Sega announced the closure of one of its studios. Racing Studio Birmingham’s 5 year plan was not deemed profitable enough to warrant the studio staying open. Although the critically acclaimed Sega Rally was solid and enjoyable, sales were poor and plans for an annual update to the franchise were shelved. With Sega unable to put them onto any other projects, they decided to just close the studio down.

Full Sega release follows:

"Regrettably SEGA today announced that it is to commence consultation with a view to the unfortunate closure of the SEGA Racing Studio in Birmingham, UK.
The decision is part of a review of SEGA’s Western Development Studios to ensure that each studio is a profitable entity in its own right, and unfortunately the SEGA Racing Studio’s 5 year plan would not result in a successful return for the SEGA business moving forward.
SEGA would like to stress that there will be no changes within their other internal development studios."

It’s always sad to hear that a developer has closed down, but we hope they will bounce back.