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Shadow Gambit studio Mimimi are closing down “to prioritize our well-being"15 years of gamedev has taken “a heavy personal toll on us and our families”, say founders
15 years of gamedev has taken “a heavy personal toll on us and our families”, say founders
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Mimimi Games
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Mimimi Games
Sad news, folks. Munich, Germany-based independent developer Mimimi Games have announced that they’re closing doors following the release ofShadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, which RPS only recently described as the studio’s best work yet. The developer plan to support Shadow Gambit with patches and additions, but are otherwise ceasing development and will “slowly ramp down” in the coming months. Founders Dominik Abé and Johannes Roth are even now trying to relocate the studio’s few dozen employees, who will be paid a bonus taken from Shadow Gambit profits to ease the transition.
Why are Mimimi closing down? Sheer exhaustion, it seems. “As we look back at our 15-year journey crafting games (and crying about it), we feel grateful for the incredible love and support we received from all of you,” readsa post from the founders on the developer’s website. “We cherished every game we made and feel proud of what we were able to accomplish as a studio. At the same time, dedicating the past decade and a half of our lives working on increasingly ambitious games took a heavy personal toll on us and our families. After the release of Shadow Gambit we decided it was the right time to prioritize our well-being and to pull the brakes instead of signing up for another multi-year production cycle.”
Mimimi developers were told of the decision at an on-site meeting today, just beforethe public announcement. “We will be doing everything in our power to support our team, and we are now starting to reach out to our friends in the industry to find suitable new jobs for all Mimimis,” the post continues. “If you have open positions and are interested in hiring our amazing talents, please get in touch via hiring@mimimi.games. Thanks to the recent launch of Shadow Gambit, we are also able to pay out a bonus to all employees to help them during their transition.”
It sounds like the decision to close may have been recent. Only this July, Abéspoke to us about potential directions for a future game.
We wish the very best of luck to everybody affected.
