Embracer has reportedly closed Elex developer Piranha Bytes as former creative director announces a new indie studio
Piranha Bytes, the German developer of the Gothic, Risen, and Elex RPGs, has reportedly been closed by parent company Embracer Group. The closure comes less than six months after Piranha Bytes said it was "in a difficult situation" but was still trying to find a way to move ahead with its next game in order to keep the studio open.
The closure was first reported by Polish gaming site CD Action, which quoted a former employee as saying the studio had been shuttered at the end of June after Embracer was unable to find a buyer.
Shortly after that report came to light, former creative director Bjorn Pankratz, along with his wife and fellow Piranha Bytes veteran Jennifer, announced the launch of a new indie outfit called Pithead Studio.
«We wanted to keep doing what we love,» Pankratz said in the studio announcement video. «This seemed like the best way to do it.»
The video makes no mention of Piranha Bytes, but a message posted on the Pithead Studio Discord points to an unhappy ending.
With Pithead Studio we have founded a new indie studio.In the future we will develop immersive and fantastic indie games.Curious? Then take a look at our latest video.https://t.co/qTTwtLqtnmPlease spread the word!#pithead #pitheadstudio #indiedev pic.twitter.com/oCzXAKKwtJJuly 8, 2024
«As you sure noticed, the gaming industry was not doing well last year,» it states. «This was also the case for the Embracer Group, to which THQ Nordic and Piranha Bytes belong. A lot of studios had to close, thousands of people in the gaming industry worldwide lost their jobs. Sadly, Piranha Bytes was also affected by this.»
A separate message notes that the Gothic, Risen, and Elex games remain the property of THQ Nordic, the Embracer brand under which Piranha Bytes operated, and Pithead Studio has no knowledge of, or influence over, what will happen to them in the future.
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