Piranha Bytes (Gothic and Elex devs) has apparently closed down at the end of June

[John Elden Ring]

he news is not official yet, hence why I used 'apparently' in the thread headline. The source for this is a report on a Polish website -
https://cdaction.pl/newsy/piranha-bytes-zamkniete-to-koniec-tworcow-gothica

Here's a Google translation of the article:

One of the Piranha Bytes employees, with whom we have been in contact since the publication of the first information about the studio's crisis situation , informed us that the company responsible for the creation of Gothic ceased operations at the end of June.

The crisis had been going on for a long time , but investors interested in providing assistance to the studio appeared on the horizon from time to time. The information provided to us indicates that a cash injection of 3 million euros was expected. After all, it was one of the most popular companies creating games in our western neighbors. Unfortunately, the buyout of "Piranha" did not take place in the end, and the financing from Embracer was enough to support the team until June 2024. In the meantime, many employees said goodbye to the studio, opting for more secure employment. A few days before the publication of the material, the company's office looked like this:

We know that the plans after a potential takeover were to distance themselves from the last games produced under the leadership of Björn Pankratz (who, together with his wife, left Piranha Bytes in November last year and today announced the establishment of the Pithead studio ), i.e. the Elex series, and create a new dark fantasy title on Unreal Engine 5. It was of course supposed to resemble Gothic, to which Piranha Bytes did not have the rights. In December, the lighting and animations were still being refined, which, according to the informant, had previously been the cause of considerable criticism from players.

The current CEO of Piranha Bytes, Michael Rueve, has not yet commented on the fate of the company, but according to our information, the studio will most likely not release any official statements, allowing itself to depart peacefully and quietly.

 

[Orangee]

Surprised they lasted so long

 

[ToTTenTranz]

This is a shame. I always thought the concept behind Elex to be interesting and I believe I bought Elex II at some point, but I never got myself around to play the game.
As for the studio's previous games, Gothic and Risen were often spoken about being western RPGs with great potential, but unfortunately they would always be dwarfed by Bethesda's offerings.

Let's just hope the devs could find other opportunities quick and nearby.

 

[Evilnemesis8]

RIP, I quite did like Elex even with the usual Piranha Bytes jank.

I never did get to Elex 2 but I know it underperformed massively.
That release date was a real killer, should've delayed the game(it needed more polish anyway.)
Publisher was THQ Nordic so... Probably not in the cards anyhow.

Elex 2 release date: March 1st 2022
Elden Ring's release date: Feb 25th 2022

Nobody but the most hardcore fans of the studio bought that game at launch.
Elden Ring was the only thing being talked about in gaming for at least a solid 2 weeks.

 

[Say1nMan]

There are a lot of these European studios that make RPGs but they don't have the higher budget or the manpower to make these games of a higher AAA quality and as a result the games tend to end up rough around the edges with lots of jank. However, the games will also round up a small cult following though.

 

[2spooky5me]

NGL, I know their games were jank AF, but I liked them a lot.
There's a charm to them.. and I want Euro devs to compete and succeed.