Eat Sleep Play’s Twisted Metal releases next week, but before that, the studio will undergo downsizing and a change of leadership.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports the developer has laid off eight of its employees, approximately 20% of its staff. It seems the company also plans to shift away from console development to mobile games.

“[the iPhone and iPad] is in our pockets almost 24/7. It’s kind of the size and types of games we’re playing. You can certainly reach a lot more people. That’s pretty exciting for us,” studio co-founder Scott Campbell told the Tribune.

While layoffs at a studio are not uncommon after finishing a title and many companies are shifting their efforts toward the mobile gaming sphere, the strangest part of the reports surrounding the company is co-founder and face of the company David Jaffe’s departure.

In a series of Tweets, Jaffe corrects many of the assumptions being made as well as addresses what is next for him.

“The rumors of me making casual games post [Twisted Metal] — as many of you define them — are highly exaggerated,” reads one Tweet. Clarifying, Jaffe claims he has “zero plans to make games like Farmville and Angry Birds,” but that he “will be opening a game studio” in San Diego, California, “because I really miss internal development.”

So what’s next for Jaffe? “I am with [Eat Sleep Play] and have not left and will not leave until we get [Twisted Metal] launched and stick around [to balance and bug fix and tune],” another Tweet explains.

Twisted Metal releases February 14 for the PlayStation 3.