Mad Catz lays off 37% of staff despite "strong" Rock Band 4 sales

Mad Catz is making heavy staff cuts and restructuring in the wake of missed targets.

37% of Mad Catz staff will be let go as part of the peripheral manufacturer's restructuring, which is expected to be complete by the end of of FY2016, saving Mad Catz about $5 million annually as of FY2017.

The company actually had its second-highest quarterly sales to date, with a 114% year-on-year increase to $65 million. Unfortunately, it still suffered a 10% decrease in net income to $1.2 million, and its losses for the nine months to date equal $4.4 million.

It doesn't sound like Rock Band 4 is to blame; new Mad Catz president and CEO Karen McGinnis said Harmonix's latest generated "strong" sales, offset by "continuing softness" in the PC gaming and audio product markets. That said, Mad Catz had predicted higher sales than were in fact the case.

"Rock Band sell-through was lower than originally forecast resulting in higher inventory balances as well as lower margins due to increased promotional activity with retailers," McHinnis said.

"Looking ahead, we are confident in our ability to further monetize our diverse range of products and are focused on updating and improving many of our product offerings to better leverage the opportunities we see ahead."

Mad Catz announced a thorough executive turnover yesterday, in advance of its financials release.

Best wishes to all those effected by the cuts.