GamesIndustry.biz reports while CiRCLE Studio's closure has yet to be made official, a number of studios in the region - including Free Radical Design, Swordfish Studios, Rebellion and Eurocom -  have already begun talks with some of the studio's former staff.

CiRCLE Studios, which was founded by industry veterans Jeremy Heath-Smith and Adrian Smith, was reported to have gone into liquidation Tuesday.

David Doak, director of Free Radical Design, based in Nottingham, confirmed this, saying that CirCLE's closure "means that we are now talking to some ex-CiRCLE employees." Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley also revealed that they are currently talking to "some selected individuals who have sent in CVs direct to our Rebellion Derby [offices]."

According to GamesIndustry.biz, sources close to CiRCLE revealed that Birmingham developer Swordfish Studios is another interested party, demoing a new title at the studio the very afternoon that employees had been informed of their redundancy. Swordfish announced a new studio devoted solely to next-gen games late last year.

Recruitment firms are also said to be hovering over the studio, as is Pirates of the Caribbean developer Eurocom, a company situated in the same city as CiRCLE.

Before the onset of this round of the console wars, developer CiRCLE Studio was mostly known for its shooter title Without Warning for the PS2 and the Xbox. Both versions were published by Capcom back in 2005.

It's interesting that since then, the company has been busy making interactive DVD games and nothing more. Now, there are rumors circulating that CiRCLE Studio is about to close down.

The reports added that CEO Jeremy Heath-Smith informed the company's staff about the bad news the other day. Also, it has been said that CiRCLE has gone into liquidation and will cease operations immediately.

Gaming site Games Industry tried to contact the CEO and its Public Relations Manager Suzie Hamilton but according to the site, the two denied the rumors.

To be quite frank though, the company hasn't been really active in coming up with releases. The last four DVD games (Blockbusters, The Price is Right, No. 1 Hits, and Now Magazine Ultimate Celeb Quiz) were released back in November of 2006. It is also worth mentioning that Jeremy Heath-Smith co-founded Core Design, the original developer of the Tomb Raider series, back in 1988.