The once-booming social-gaming scene is starting to show some serious cracks. Zynga just had to appoint a new chief executive to restore confidence with investors, and now Japanese developer Gree is scaling back its international business after a tough quarter.
The company is considering pulling completely out of the U.K., according to a report from TechCrunch. In a statement, Gree business development director Lynn Daniel confirmed that the company is mulling the closure of its U.K. office.
“Due to the challenging economic climate and on-going changes within the interactive industry, Gree has proposed to close its UK office,” Daniel wrote in a statement. “This decision is being considered in order to focus on developing content from the United States of America for the Western market.”
This isn’t the first international retreat in Gree’s recent history.
“Gree is closing or has already closed a total of five international offices in the U.K., Brazil, The Netherlands, Dubai, and China,” Japanese gaming analyst Serkan Toto wrote in a blog post. “Gree is laying off or has already laid off people in the U.S. and South Korea.”
This leaves Gree with operations in the U.S., Canada, South Korea, and Singapore outside of its Japanese headquarters.
Last week, Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei reported (as spotted by Toto) that Gree’s profits and sales dropped for a third quarter in a row. From April to June, the company’s sales dropped to $348 million, which is down 10 percent year-over-year.
In addition to rolling back its international expansions, Gree is considering shutting down nearly 20 of its social games, according to the Nikkei report.