Embracer Shuts Down Alone in the Dark Developer Pieces Interactive
Alone in the Dark developer Pieces Interactive has been shut down by the now infamous Embracer Group after the game failed to meet expectations.
A statement on the developer's website lists a 2007 to 2024 lifespan for Pieces Interactive alongside the message "thanks for playing with us." It also offers a short history of the studio before a dedicated paragraph comments on its acquisition by Embracer Group, which in the last year has also shut down developers Free Radical Design, Onoma, and Volition Games amid lay-offs affecting more than 1,000 employees.
"In 2017, Pieces Interactive were acquired by Embracer Group after working with the expansion for Titan Quest, Titan Quest: Ragnarök and third expansion for Titan Quest, Titan Quest: Atlantis," the post said. "Our last release was the reimagining of Alone in the Dark."
The survival horror game, which launched in March 2024 to middling reviews, endured a "softer than expected performance" and "performed below management expectations" according to a statement from Embracer made after it reportedly made a round of layoffs at Pieces Interactive.
Pieces Interactive joins an increasing list of video game studio closures and layoffs that have plagued the industry for the past two years. Embracer has caused many of these, having cut thousands of staff since the collapse of a $2 billion deal in 2023.
It also sold the likes of Borderlands developer Gearbox Software and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic remake studio Saber Interactive ahead of announcing a split into three separate companies.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
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