Replace (September twenty seventh, 9:19AM): Merge Video games’ mum or dad firm Most Leisure has deleted Merge’s unique shutdown announcement, changing it with one in every of Most’s personal wherein the corporate claims Merge is “now built-in inside Most Leisure”.
That declare is disputed by a minimum of one Merge worker, nonetheless, who claims that though Most says Merge is “absolutely built-in”, he “simply handed [his] workplace keys in”.
One other Merge worker says it was “our final day at Merge yesterday”, seemingly referring to the corporate’s total employees, all of whose names are written on a farewell signal on a whiteboard. It would not seem like Merge continues to be operational as any sort of significant entity at this stage.
Unique story follows beneath.
Unique story: Smalland: Survive the Wilds and Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX writer Merge Video games has introduced it is shutting down, placing an finish to a 15-year journey within the video games business.
Posting on X (previously Twitter), Merge broadcasts that it is closing down, though it would not disclose a cause within the submit. Nonetheless, in all chance, the closure of Merge is expounded to the unification of all of mum or dad firm Most Leisure’s divisions earlier this yr.
In its submit, Merge says its staff began “from a tiny, cramped attic” and grew to “a decent, multi-disciplined 22-person staff”, bringing “a whole lot of indie gems to storefronts world wide”. Fairly poignantly, Merge says its staff “cherished each second of it”.
Merge continues by thanking its followers for his or her help and asks that in case you see a former Merge worker or work together with them, “simply know that they are an unimaginable one who labored their hardest”.
With reference to Merge’s upcoming releases, which embrace narrative journey Spirit of the North 2 and comfortable farming RPG Pixelshire, the studio says its slate will “be managed by [its] mum or dad firm, Most Leisure”.
It is not clear whether or not all of Merge’s workers will probably be laid off or whether or not they’ll be absorbed into Most Leisure, though the wording of Merge’s submit means that its employees could be out of a job now.
Merge is only one of a variety of studios which were shut down or considerably downsized within the business in latest months. Others embrace Danger of Rain 2‘s Hopoo Video games, Doom 3 VR developer Archiact, and (allegedly) Gothic and Risen developer Piranha Bytes, amongst others.
After all, it is attainable that Merge’s shutdown has been on the playing cards since February’s Most consolidation, and it is honest to say that the above studios do not all have the identical causes for shutting down. Nonetheless, right now, we mourn the lack of a captivating little publishing home. Keep tuned for extra.