Gothic and Risen developer Piranha Bytes seems to have been shut down by father or mother firm THQ Nordic (itself owned by Embracer Group), if a brand new report is to be believed.
In response to a report by Polish gaming information platform CD-Motion, the developer, which is understood for mechanically clunky however bold RPGs like Risen, Gothic, and Elex, was shut down in the direction of the tip of final month.
The report claims that Piranha Bytes was anticipating funding to reach from an investor for its newest mission, which CD-Motion says would have been a Gothic-style darkish fantasy RPG created in Unreal Engine 5.
It is value noting that CD-Motion merely cites an nameless “supply” who’s supposedly a Piranha Bytes worker, however since that worker is not named, ensure to take this report with a pinch of salt.
It does, nevertheless, line up with what we already find out about Piranha Bytes’ scenario. Again in January, the studio described its scenario as “tough”, imploring followers to not “write us off but” almost about an unannounced mission.
Piranha Bytes mentioned on the time that it could “do no matter it takes” to discover a publishing and funding companion for the mission, however evidently if CD-Motion’s report is appropriate, these efforts sadly have not borne fruit.
Moreover, Piranha Bytes artistic director and longtime staffer Björn Pankratz introduced earlier right this moment that he has based a brand new indie studio, Pithead, alongside along with his spouse Jennifer, though his LinkedIn web page nonetheless lists him as a present worker of Piranha Bytes.
If Piranha Bytes has certainly been closed, then meaning the studio’s closing mission was 2022’s Elex 2, an motion RPG very a lot within the Piranha Bytes custom. There are worse methods to exit, eh?
After all, this would possibly not impression the upcoming Gothic remake. Though Piranha Bytes was the developer for the unique Gothic, the brand new mission is being labored on by an inside THQ Nordic studio and does not contain Piranha Bytes.
We contacted THQ Nordic for additional data on this story, however they refused to touch upon the scenario. Watch this house for more information.
