Another loss in the game industry as Piranha Bytes, the German studio behind the Gothic, Risen and ELEX series, has been shut down. Owner Embracer Groyp had been seeking a buyer for Piranha Bytes as part of its cost cutting measures, but was unsuccessful.
Previously there were reports of job losses at the end of last year, with the company acknowledging “a difficult situation” as it faced potential closure. Now that fear has been realized according to a fresh report today by German website GameStar, which has confirmed the studio formally shut at the end of June.
There is a silver lining, as its leaders have now founded a new indie studio called Pithead Studio, under the leadership of Björn Pankratz and Jennifer Pankratz, which aims to continue their former studio’s focus on role-playing games.
This morning, Pithead Studio officially announced its existence with a post on Twitter (now known as X), and released a new YouTube video discussing what’s next, which you can see below.
