Gaslamp fantasy “hasn’t been commercially successful enough” to keep staff on
Inflexion Games are closing their UK office, laying off staff and restructuring their main Canadian studio after failing to find commercial success with their Victorian fantasy survival gameNightingale. Reportedly, at least 22 people have been let go.
Nightingale launched in early access in February this year. At the time, we said it hadsignificant charmbut also,significant flaws, with Ed eventuallysummarising itas “a numbers grind disguised as a gaslamp survival game”. The developers soon treated the early access build toa comprehensive overhaul, shifting the focus away from procedurally generated landscapes and toward “handcrafted” stories. But it hasn’t been enough to keep the wolf from the door.
In a social media update this week, Inflexion CEO Aaryn Flynn writes that “like many other studios over the past few years, we have been hit by the stark realities of the industry, and after exploring every possible option, we’ve had to make the difficult decision to let go of some of our remarkable and talented team members”. The early access launch, he goes on, “hasn’t been commercially successful enough to continue development at our studio’s previous size”.
A message regarding today’s unfortunate studio news.pic.twitter.com/XBPsxZW5yV
Reports that Inflexion had shut down their UK division began to circulate last week, following developer posts on LinkedIn. An anonymous studio source has toldGamesIndustry.bizthat at least 22 people have been laid off, based on internal correspondence.
I’m still hoping Inflexion can turn it around, as a fan of Carrollian whimsy and Tarot cards, but that’s of no use to the people who’ve lost their jobs. If you’re among them, best of luck.
