In the wake of their break away from former owners Viacom, developer has announced that they have been forced to shed some staff.

The newly independent game developer has had to lay off somewhere between 12 and 15 percent of its 240-strong staff.

According to Joystiq, sources close to Harmonix have said that planned packs for Dance Central and Rock Band 3 will remain unaffected by the cuts.

Harmonix released the following statement: "Harmonix is restructuring our organization to bring it into alignment with our current product plans. Unfortunately, this means reducing the number of full-time staff. We sincerely appreciate the work of each and every one of these employees. Harmonix is working to ensure that those affected are well taken care of as we make this change."

By Ewan Aiton