Galway-based Romero Games has closed after its publisher pulled funding for a game the company was developing.

The Romero Games website indicates that the company, which was founded in 2014 by award-winning developers Brenda and John Romero, employed over 100 people.

Posts on LinkedIn by former Romero Games developers indicate that all staff have been laid off as a result of the funding decision, which chief executive Brenda Romero said had been "made at a high level within the publisher well above our visibility and control."

"We're currently evaluating next steps and working quickly to support our team," Romero said in a statement on Friday.

"Many of us have worked together for more than a decade, some for over 20 years. It's an extremely difficult day, and we're heartbroken that it's come to this."

The firm had been working on a new first-person shooter with "a major publisher" believed to be Xbox maker Microsoft, which earlier this week announced 9,000 lay-offs globally.

"We deeply wish there had been something, anything, we could have done to prevent this outcome," Romero continued.

"This absolutely isn't a reflection of our team's work, performance or the quality of the project itself. We hit every milestone on time, every time, consistently received high praise, and easily passed all our internal gates.

"We are incredibly proud of the work being done and of the talented team behind it. The best we've worked with."

The latest accounts for Romero Games Ltd show retained earnings of nearly €3 million after profits of €1.5m in 2024 and €1.2m in 2023. The firm employed around 42 people last year.

Photo: Brenda and John Romero. (Pic: Shane Anthony Sinclair/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA)