A whirlwind of rumors have emerged today regarding online gaming company OnLive. It was initially reported by Mashable that the company’s entire staff had been laid off, a notion supported by an OnLive staffer-penned email received by inXile’s Brian Fargo. This sparked speculation that the company could be shut down. OnLive has since denied that is the case; despite this, subsequent reports suggest layoffs have taken place in what has been a confusing day for fans of the service.
OnLive launched its game streaming service in 2010 that allowed users to play full retail games without downloading anything by streaming them to their computers. The service has since expanded to other platforms including tablets, Internet-connected TVs and media players, and a dedicated OnLive game console, with users being able to sample games for a short period of time or purchase them outright. It’s appeared to be a likely acquisition target for quite some time; when Sony was rumored to be purchasing a streaming games service ahead of E3, it was presumed to be either OnLive or Gaikai. Ultimately it turned out that Gaikai had been acquired for $380 million. OnLive has meanwhile continued to establish partnerships to bring its service to new devices; in a tweet that came just after word of layoffs began to circulate, the official OnLive account noted that the first Vizio Co-Stars with OnLive built-in arrived in homes today.
