Starhawk developer Lightbox Interactive is laying off 24 staff and switching from console to iOS game development.

LightBox president Dylan Jobe said the moves were a result of a changing game industry.

“We are moving away from traditional console development to self-fund the development of our next game on Apple's iOS devices,” he said.

“I am not shutting down LightBox Interactive but I did pre-emptively inform my staff that there were going to be lay-offs on Friday – 24 people to be exact.”

“Too often in our industry, people are 'let-go' with no warning, no severance, no time at all to prepare their portfolios. It's actually quite terrible. That's NOT how we run things here at LightBox Interactive” he added.

“The whole reason for me informing my team of lay-offs before they happen is so they have time to prepare. Collect stuff for their portfolios, capture screen shots or video – the stuff that helps people land on their feet."

All 24 employees were given a severance package.

Sony has confirmed that it will no longer be working with LightBox.

“We have had a positive and long-standing working relationship with this talented studio, and wish them the best of success in their next endeavour,” it said.

“Starhawk and Warhawk will continue to be supported by Santa Monica Studio.”

News of the layoffs first hit the Internet with a 3D Realms founder George Broussard tweet.

“Good luck to my buddies at LightBox in Austin. Layoffs and rumors of near whole studio gone by Friday,” it said.

Lightbox was founded in 2009, and was staffed largely by former members of Warhawk developer Incognito.

Its first release was PlayStation 3 exclusive third-person shooter Starhawk, released this year. The game received decent but not spectacular reviews.