Piranha Bytes Reportedly Closed by Embracer

I actually do feel bad when I feel smug after people have lost their jobs, but I can’t help it sometimes. It was only a couple of months ago I was sitting here talking about the sale of Gearbox to 2K and that according to Embracer, it was the end of the large-scale restructure, and that “the layoffs and restructuring seem to have stopped, for now.” Thankfully, the last I spoke about Embracer was Nintendo’s acquisition of DIGIC Pictures.

Sadly, according to reports Piranha Bytes, developer of Gothic, Risen, and Elex, has been shuttered. According to Polish site CD Action and German site Game Star yesterday, the German studio’s hopes earlier this year of securing funding (€ 3 million according to CD Action) has fallen through and Embracer being in the situation it is in, the studio has reportedly been closed since sometime at the end of June. Earlier in the month, Game Star also had an editorial/news piece noting the studio’s seemed demise and “will not return.”

There is still no official word from the studio or from Embracer at the time of writing, and it seems that was somewhat intentional. Letting the studio quietly slip away and not make too much fuss about a beloved studio’s closer. Though Embracer also shuttered Alone in the Dark developer Pieces Interactive last month, with the only update being on the studio’s website, simply saying, “2007 – 2024, Thanks for playing with us.”

Former creative director at Piranha Bytes, Björn Pankratz alongside partner Jenny Pankratz left the studio back in November apparently. Only yesterday announcing the couple’s new studio, Pithead Studio, which had sparked all of this conversation over the closer of Piranha Bytes. There is no direct word from the two in the video announcement or otherwise, though it is supposedly (according to PC Gamer) noted on a Discord for the studio that it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.

The couple noted in the video announcement of the studio, “We wanted to keep doing what we love,” but would go on to say, “This seemed like the best way to do it.” I won’t quote the messages in the Studio’s public Discord, as that seems to be not bitter but coming from a place where the two weren’t ultimately happy where they were. Understandable given the morale of the games industry. It was, however, noted that the Piranha Bytes’ IP will remain with Embracer/THQ Nordic, with Pithead having no influence in those IPs going forward.

If this is the end of the studio’s lifespan, I think everyone can agree this is a crappy ending to one of Germany’s more interesting studios. As I said back in April when the layoffs had supposedly ended, I don’t know that this is the end of it. Not just from Embracer but the wider gaming industry. It almost feels like a slower burn of the ’80s gaming crash, which devoured the global industry revenue in the space of three years from $40 billion to under $15 billion. The US alone in 2022 generated $46.4 billion, but for large and medium-sized publishers the bubble of infinite revenue is bursting.