Moshi Monsters company closes 'Candy Labs' office in Brighton

Mind Candy, the company behind the Moshi Monsters phenomenon, is closing its office in Brighton.

The decision comes after the company failed to produce another computer game to equal the global best-seller - even though World of Warriors, the latest product, achieved significant success, with millions of downloads and was picked as Editor's Choice on the global App Store. It has not been disclosed how many jobs will be lost as a result of the closure of the 'Candy Labs' offices in North Road.

But Michael Acton-Smith, the founder and former chief executive of Mind Candy, confirmed there would be redundancies. Mind Candy explained the decision was part of a wider plan to bring the company's staff together under a single roof in Shoreditch, London.

Mr Acton-Smith told the gamesindustry.biz website: 'I don't think it's any secret that Mind Candy has been having a difficult few years. We had such extraordinary success with Moshi Monsters, but with the switch from web-business to mobile, the commercial engine which drove the business was just no longer there. The amazing revenues which we had have just declined dramatically and we, and a lot of other kids' web properties, haven't been able to build successful businesses on mobile for a whole host of reasons, which I think the industry is pretty aware of. I really feel for the people we have to let go, it's obviously a horrible, horrible thing to do, but we're trying to manage it in a respectful and professional way.'

Mind Candy was set up in 2003 and made its name with Moshi Monsters, an internet-based game, in 2008. In 2012, it announced it had acquired the Origami Blue games studio - set up by three former Disney Blackrock employees - to create 'Candy Labs' in Brighton