As we had explained previously, THQ Maryland-based developer, Big Huge Games, was previously notified of the possibility of layoffs if a buyer were not quickly found. The developer, who is perhaps best known for the Rise of Nations title, now looks to be going to lose head count as THQ is starting to drop the axe on employees.

From what we have been able to gather from our moles, there is still some time left to complete a sale, but in the meantime THQ plans to slowly start showing people the door in order to reduce payroll. Meanwhile, from our understanding at least some development will continue in hopes that a buyer can be found.

Whispers seem to point to an RPG project by Ken Rolston of Oblivion fame as the main project that the company is working on at the moment. Little is really known about the project or even how close the project is to completion. The last release from Big Huge was the conversion of the Catan board game that was released on Xbox Live Arcade. It is unknown what other projects Big Huge might also be working on.

THQ is not yet ready to start talking publicly about the specifics surrounding Big Huge, but we expect more details will continue to leak out over the next couple of weeks, as some of the employees that are being let go start looking for new employment.