We live in dark times for the video game industry. Or rather, for a part of the industry, because in the last few months one has been hunting Wave of layoffs the next, which is why thousands of employees worldwide have lost their jobs. In addition, we had to say goodbye to various well-known development studios forever. After it already in 2023 Free Radical Design, Pixelopus or Volition met, it will just continue in 2024.
So far (as of May 18, 2024) more than ten studios have had to permanently close their doors. We recently received news that Microsoft four of his Bethesda teams has shut down. Below we will give you an overview of all the development studios that we had to say goodbye to in the first five months of 2024 or that are at least on the cards for closure in the near future.
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Alpha Dog Games
Studio closure: May 2024
Alpha Dog Games was founded in Halifax, Canada in 2012 and focused on mobile games. The small team produced titles such as “Wraithborne” and most recently “Mighty DOOM”. In the last few months it has been quiet around the development studio, whose demise was only recently sealed by Xbox.
Arcane Austin
Studio closure: May 2024
What happens when a development studio best known for immersive sim games like “Dishonored” and “Prey” has to work on a live service title against the wishes of a significant portion of the team? Well, then in the case of Arkane Austin we get the Xbox console-exclusive vampire shooter “Redfall”. The title received rather weak reviews from critics and gamers alike and is therefore considered a flop.
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However, after the release of the game, the number increased Reportsthat the development was anything but smooth. After the studio's closure became official, we received reports that the team was still working actively worked on “Redfall”. and committed to the development of one new “Dishonored” game supposed to have made him strong. However, Xbox is not giving the company founded in 2006 another chance and recently sealed the studio's demise.
Crop Circle Games
Studio closure: March 25, 2024
The small team at Crop Circle Games was only able to hold its own on the market for a good two years. It was only last February that the studio is said to have started work on an as yet unannounced project. After several employees were laid off, the young company had to permanently close its doors a short time later.
Deviation Games
Studio closure: March 9, 2024
With Deviation Games, another relatively young development studio had been hit just a few weeks earlier. The company was founded in Los Angeles in 2020 by Dave Anthony and Jason Blundell. Both have worked on Activision Blizzard's “Call of Duty” series for a long time and, together with their own team, wanted to use this experience to create a new IP exclusively for the PlayStation 5 in cooperation with Sony.
After the collaboration with Sony was announced in June 2021, Blundell left the team a little over a year later. His former colleague Tony Flame, who was previously employed at Treyarch, stepped in for him. In May 2023, however, the development studio had to pay a not insignificant part laid off his workforce. At the beginning of March 2024, the fate of Deviation Games was finally sealed.
Double loop games
Studio closure: January 12, 2024
After a good four years in the video game industry, those responsible for the company specializing in mobile games had to close it via the portal LinkdIn confirm. Shelby Moledina, one of the studio's founders, said her team, like other similarly sized development teams, failed to make a big breakthrough in 2023 “in a very hostile funding and marketing environment.”
Little Red Dog Games
Studio closure: January 22, 2024
“Little Red Dog Games joins the layoff party,” wrote COO Blazej Zywiczynski in January of this year LinkdIn. The development team, which was once based in Potsdam in the US state of New York, was able to assert itself on the market for more than eleven years and was primarily responsible for various mobile games during this time. The studio's best-known works include the titles “Deep Sixed” and “Rogue State”.
London Studio
Studio closure: February 27, 2024
After more than 20 years, the final curtain fell on Sony PlayStation's London Studio this year. In the wake of a large wave of layoffs that cost 900 people their jobs, it was decided to close the English company. Since its founding in 2002, the development team has worked on more than 60 games for various PlayStation systems, from the PlayStation 2 to the PlayStation Portable to PlayStation VR.
The best-known game series from London Studio include “EyeToy” and “SingStar”. The team also worked on the This is Football franchise and the PS2-exclusive third-person shooter The Getaway: Black Monday. In 2019, the studio's last titles, the first-person shooter “Blood & Truth” and “Erica”, were released, the former exclusively for PlayStation VR.
Ridgeline Games
Studio closure: May 7, 2024
Shortly after Sony, Electronic Arts confirmed that the company had to five percent of its global workforce dismissed. Part of these cuts was also the young development studio Ridgeline Games, whose teams were based in Kirkland and Seattle in the US state of Washington. The company was founded in 2021 by industry veteran Marcus Lehto, one of the creators of “Halo”. The new studio's focus would be on creating a story-driven Battlefield experience. However, the project may have been saved, because according to IGN it may have found a new home at Criterion.
Smilegate Barcelona
Studio closure: March 27, 2024
In 2020, the South Korean video game company Smilegate founded a new studio in Barcelona that would henceforth focus on the development of AAA games. The development team's first project was supposed to be an open-world console game that was never officially revealed. Director Stephane Blais confirmed the closure of the studio on LinkdIn (via VGC). He didn't go into further detail, but he described the last six months as “pretty intense.”
Tango Gameworks
Studio closure: May 2024
The studio whose final demise may have caused the greatest outrage among gamers in the recent past was certainly Tango Gameworks. Video game legend Shinji Mikami (“Resident Evil”) founded the company in March 2010 in Odaiba, Tokyo. In the same year, the young company was taken over by Bethesda's parent company ZeniMax Media. The studio has been part of Microsoft Gaming since March 2021.
Over the course of its history, the development team has produced four console games, most notably the two horror games “The Evil Within” and “The Evil Within 2”. The action adventure, initially exclusive to PlayStation 5, followed later “Ghostwire: Tokyo”. With the surprise release of the rhythm action game “Hi-Fi Rush” Tango Gameworks achieved a real surprise hit in 2023, which should be nominated for numerous awards. But neither the outcry within the industry and players nor that last one positive “review bombing” of the game were able to prevent the closure of the Japanese studio.
Before we get to the next studio, another small addition: At the beginning we talked about four Microsoft teams whose closure was decided. Like Alpha Dog Games, Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks, the studio became Roundhouse Games Although it is also closed, this special team, which, among other things, worked as support on “Redfall”, is moving over to the “The Elder Scrolls Online” makers at ZeniMax Online Studios.
Threshold Games
Studio closure: February 9, 2024
After five years, the Seattle-based development team at Threshold Games also had to close its doors forever. The studio was founded in 2019 by June Saphry. The game that the small team was working on will no longer see the light of day. Like lead producer Astra Ebonwing LinkdIn revealed that press work for the title should start in March of this year. However, “unforeseen reasons” led to the studio’s closure guided.
Threaks
Studio closure: January 18, 2024
At the beginning of the year, Threaks also hit a German indie development studio. The Hamburg-based company announced LinkdInthat the company's development department must be closed after 15 years. Over the course of its history, the team has worked on 18 commercial games released on 12 platforms. The studio's works include “All I Have Is Time” and “Battle Planet – Judgment Day”.
CEO Wolf Lang wrote on the occasion of Threaks' closure LinkdIn: “What a sad and super exciting day! After 15 years we are closing our first company forever (more details in the post). I'm super grateful for the life that Threaks created for me and that led to the founding of Super Crowd GmbH in 2018.” The company is still hoping for a miracle, but the signs are probably not too good.
Wimo Games
Studio closure: January 18, 2024
After three years and three completed video games, this development studio was also called “Game Over” in January 2024. Walter Hill, who worked as an associate software engineer at Wimo Games, announced LinkdIn the end of the Texas-based indie developer and publisher. All 35 team members have therefore lost their jobs. A day later, CEO Dave Rosen confirmed GamesIndustry.biz the end of his company.
In addition to the mobile title “RPG Dice: Heroes of Whitestone”, Wimo Games also published the two VR games “Battle Bows” and “Micro Machines: Mini Challenge Mayhem”.
Further reports on layoffs and studio closures.
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