Gree UK office closed, EU offices in doubt - report

International mobile and social publisher Gree has closed its UK development and business teams, issuing a statement casting serious doubt on the Amsterdam office's future.

In a statement published below, the Japanese-headquartered company discusses the closure in potential terms, but EDGE reports the office has already been shuttered. It's not known how many jobs were lost.

"Due to the challenging economic climate and on-going changes within the interactive industry, Gree has proposed to close its UK office. This decision is being considered in order to focus on developing content from the United States of America for the Western market," business development director Lynn Daniel wrote.

"Gree has seen significant growth since it was founded in December 2004, but during 2013 the Gree board have found it necessary to re-assess and streamline the global business with a view to consolidating certain functions.

"This realignment of the business is a necessity to ensure that Gree can continue to invest and enhance its business offering moving forward. The management team are confident that the proposed restructure of the business will benefit the company due to the changing nature of the digital industry over the coming years."

The mention of a focus on US content has put the wind up European staff; Gree also has an office in Amsterdam.

Gree's UK team was relatively young, having opened in 2011 as a business development unit and expanded to development in August 2012.

Gree is best known to western fans as the publisher of Metal Gear Solid: Social Ops. It hasn't had a good run of it lately.