A story posted today on the VentureBeat Digital Media web site contends that Chris Early, the General Manager for the Games for Windows group, was among the 5,000-odd laid-off employees at Microsoft last week.Launched as a pay-for-multiplayer service with a fee structure similar to Xbox Live, Games for Windows Live became a free service after competing with established free players in the field.

Early, a vocal supporter of the Games for Windows initiaive, has been with the project since it launched back in 2007. Since then, the program has come under critical fire for failing to live up to user expectations. To date, tha program has garnered little public support and there have been relatively few games that utilize the software (Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II being the highest-profile example) despite being able to garner Live acheivement points. The effect of Early's departure on the Games for Windows Live program is unknown at this time, but GameSpy will continue to follow the situation.