OnLive confirms acquisition by unknown entity

OnLive
OnLive reportedly lays off at least 50% of staff

Cloud gaming company OnLive confirmed its assets have been bought by a still unknown entity, almost putting an end to its Friday saga.

"We can now confirm that the assets of OnLive, Inc. have been acquired into a newly formed company," the company said in a statement.

The "other company" has substantial funding, the statement continued, and plans to continue operating OnLive's products, services, apps, devices and partnerships, as well as push out all announced future products and services.

In other words, OnLive lives on, just under new ownership.

"A large percentage" of OnLive employees will also be rehired, the statement said, and the new company plans to hire substantially more, including more OnLive employees.

The delay in confirmed information was due to OnLive's inability to comment on the acquisition before it was complete, the statement concluded.

OnLive reps spent the day circling the issue, with one telling TechRadar "the only news we have today is the Vizio Co Star launch," referring to the company's delivery of a "MicroConsole" with pre-loaded GoogleTV plus the OnLive application.

Questions remain

What remains unknown - besides the identity of OnLive's new owner - is just how many employees still have their jobs.

A "now former employee" reported earlier Friday that at least 50 percent of the company's staff would be handed pink slips, an announcement made during an all-hands meeting at 10 a.m.(PST) by CEO Steve Perlman.

The laid off employees' key cards were supposedly deactivated by 4 p.m.(PST). No severance was offered and any stocks held by the employees are now nearly worthless, the source said.

Those employees who weren't laid off were reportedly given offer letters by the new owner.

According to the source, the layoffs and acquisition were sudden and unexpected. The source thinks the move could relate to OnLive's $5 million-a-month operating costs, a wholly untenable figure for almost any business.

Though the source said there were no clear signs OnLive as it is was going anywhere, it had reportedly been fielding acquisition offers from companies like HP.

Via Engagdet and CNET

Michelle Fitzsimmons

Michelle was previously a news editor at TechRadar, leading consumer tech news and reviews. Michelle is now a Content Strategist at Facebook.  A versatile, highly effective content writer and skilled editor with a keen eye for detail, Michelle is a collaborative problem solver and covered everything from smartwatches and microprocessors to VR and self-driving cars.