UPDATE:
Jaffe has confirmed via Twitter that he is indeed leaving Eat Sleep Play, and will be forming a new studio in San Diego. He will, however, still be hanging around for a few months to ensure that post-launch support for Twisted Metal runs smoothly.
The God of War creator also took time to clear up rumors of his desire to make casual games, insisting he has no intention of moving into Angry Birds-style territory.
"I have zero plans to make games like FARMVILLE and ANGRY BIRDS," he wrote. "I never said what I was doing post TM (and I’m still on TM along with ESP for the next months as we launch it and balance it in real-time and make sure it’s a perfect game and continue to support it).
"At the same time I will be opening a game studio here in San Diego because I really miss internal game development."
"But if I may clear this up: I was not laid off. I co-own the company. There were a few lay-offs and they were very painful to do for all involved. I’m leaving because – again – games are just getting 2 big to direct from 300 miles away & I miss the day 2 day of working direct w/team."
ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
Eat Sleep Play co-founder David Jaffe is poised to quit the studio once work on PlayStation 3-exclusive car combat title Twisted Metal is done and dusted.
According to an interview with fellow co-founder Scott Campbell in the Salt Lake Tribune, Jaffe is expected to pursue a focus on causal titles.
"[Jaffe is] excited to go into the casual space as well," Campbell said. "He’s got some projects that he’s excited about. So we’re kind of going down two separate paths."
However, in response to the comments, Jaffe wrote on Twitter: "The rumors of me making casual games post TM – as many of you define them – are highly exaggerated."
The SLT article further adds that Eat Sleep Play laid off eight workers last week while it puts the finishing touches on Twisted Metal before making the jump to mobile games.
Twisted Metal is due out in the U.S. on February 14, with a European launch scheduled for March 7.