After the lay-off of half its staff, rumour has it that Factor 5 closed their doors.

IGN's Matt Casamassina made a post on the site's boards saying that a source contacted him claiming Factor 5 shut down their doors for good. Here's what Matt posted:

"Was hoping the rumors weren't true. Contacted Julian over at F5 to shed some light, but he didn't get back to me. Got an e-mail from an inside source tonight: "Hi Matt,
How have you been? Haven't seen you guys since E3. I hope that you're doing well!

[Edit] wanted me to contact you with some late breaking news. We just learned from inside sources that developer Factor 5 has officially closed their doors as of today. That's some pretty big news considering that those guys have been around for quite a while. It's definitely a real shame! I hope that this information is helpful to you. Take care, and please say hi to Bozon for me."
Beh. Not sure what this does to Kid Icarus, either, but it sure doesn't sound good. I'll keep you posted. I'm still holding out some kind of hope there may yet be a light at the end of the tunnel.
Matt"

Neither this or the rumour that 37 employees or fired have been confirmed or commented upon, but both stories originated in trusted sources. With these news and with Free Radical shutting down, things seem a little grim in the gaming industry.