It seemed that in recent weeks the disheartening pace of studio layoffs and closures that the industry has been suffering in horror since last year had slowed, or at least slowed. Much of this news has come from the collapse of publishing giant Embracer Group, which seemed to have completed its “restructuring plan”, but one of its agonising victims has apparently been fighting against all odds to stay afloat, but in the end has not. We are talking about Piranha Bytes, the German studio based in Esssen, which, according to Gamestar, closed its doors for good on 30 June.
Already in social media the team said earlier this year that they were going through serious difficulties, but that we should have confidence in them and in the fact that they were creating something big and exciting for all fans of their style. Remember that they are the creators of Gothic, Risen and Elex, so the western RPG world is going to suffer a major loss here.
However, all is not lost: Their team leaders and management say they are looking for ways to establish themselves as a new indie studio now, so hopefully this is not the end of the line for their vision of the RPG.