LA Noire developer shuttered - rumour

Multiple reports suggests the development group formerly known as Team Bondi has been let go after the LA Noire studio was unable to find a publisher for new project Whore of the Orient.

Player Attack and MCV both cite anonymous sources for the news.

Staff are said to have been let go, but the studio is yet to be formally closed. The reason for the closure is said to be that the developer could not find financial backing for Whore of the Orient. The project is not necessarily cancelled if its development team has been closed; it may be frozen until backing is secured and staff can be re-hired.

We don't know much about Whore of the Orient; it was first announced in November 2011, possibly ahead of schedule. A few details about setting and plot slipped out of a website once, and it was expected on PlayStation 4 and the next Xbox console in 2015.

Team Bondi was led by Brendan McNamara. It went into administration in September 2011, four months after the release of LA Noire, with staff believed to have missed out on significant income as a result. Many of the studio's assets were bought out by film production company Kennedy Miller Mitchell, and some staff also made the jump.

The developer was plagued by scandal during its lifetime; staff complained of poor treatment and ;ack of proper crediting, a charge McNamara vehemently disputed.