The action-adventure Unknown 9: Awakening fell short of expectations - and that has direct consequences for the development team. This studio is now also being hit by layoffs.
Reflector Entertainment, the development studio behind the action-adventure Unknown 9: Awakening, which was only released in fall 2024, is the next company in the video game industry to be hit by layoffs. In this case, this circumstance is specifically due to the game's poor performance in sales.
CEO Herve Hoerdt hat viaLinkedInpublished a longer statement and in this context even speaks of a “failure” that was achieved with Unknown 9: Awakening. The studio's "ambitious and courageous first project, a new IP with a rich transmedia universe" failed. "The performance of the release did not come close to the company's expectations after several adjustments were made to the timing and investments, financial and otherwise. This does not justify further exploration in this universe," said the hart CEO's verdict.
As a result, a future project that was in the concept phase did not receive the green light and is now not being developed. A different decision would simply not have been sustainable for the company. And: This decision entails layoffs; However, Hoerdt did not provide any information about the specific scope.
The studio is now transitioning to a new approach that involves a single project at a time. Where possible, employees should be assigned to this single new project based on an existing Bandai Namco IP. The aim is to look after the laid-off employees as best as possible with additional support services.
