Alone in the Dark developer Pieces Interactive has seemingly been closed down by its parent company Embracer Group.
Heading over to the official Pieces Interactive website, at time of writing, simply displays a graphic which shows the studio's logo, as well as the text "2007-2024" and "Thanks For Playing With Us".
The studio then points to the work it's done over the years, including original titles like Leviathan Warships and Robo Surf, as well as "work for hire" games like Magicka 2 and several of its DLCs.
Pieces Interactive goes on to say that its "last release" was this year's Alone in the Dark "reimagining".
Over on his LinkedIn page, character artist Gustav Pethrus confirms that Pieces Interactive has been shut down and that he's looking for new work as a result.
Poignantly, Pieces Interactive's last post on X before sharing the shutdown notice was a message entreating fans to "enjoy" the Alone in the Dark remake.
The writing has probably been on the wall for Pieces Interactive since Alone in the Dark's release, unfortunately; earlier this year, when Embracer Group released its yearly financial statement, it admitted that Alone in the Dark, as well as a number of other titles, had underperformed.
Embracer Group hasn't released exact sales figures for the game, but it didn't just underperform commercially. Alone in the Dark also received middling reviews on release, with reviewers frequently pointing to its lack of polish and innovation as major drawbacks.
Not everyone felt that way, though. Our very own Tyler rather enjoyed the game, awarding it an 8.0 in his review and citing its "foreboding" atmosphere and "challenging" gameplay as highlights.
Pieces Interactive's closure seems to be part of a wide-ranging restructuring effort at parent company Embracer Group (which will soon split into three separate entities). Although CEO Lars Wingefors told investors in April that the restructuring was over, it seems that doesn't mean Embracer is done closing studios.
The company's restructuring effort has also seen studios like Saints Row developer Volition and TimeSplitters studio Free Radical closed down, as well as the sale of entities like Saber Interactive and Gearbox.
Stay tuned for more info on this and all other things Embracer Group-related.
