Developer Studio Fizbin revealed its upcoming game, Reignbreaker, will be its last. After the game’s release on March 18, the developer will close its doors.
In a statement, founder and CEO Alexander Pieper explained Fizbin was impacted by Thunderful’s late 2024 decision to “drastically reduce internal development.” Since that news, he said the team looked at different ways to keep going after Reignbreaker’s launch, but said “none of those projects will move us forward, leading us to make this difficult decision.”
This marks the first set of layoffs for the month of March that we’ve observed. A number of developers laid off staff throughout February, and Warner Bros. Discovery subsidiaries Monolith Productions, WB San Diego, and Player First Games were ended shortly before the month did.
Founded in 2011, the Berlin-based Studio Fizbin released its debut project, The Inner World, two years later. Over the years, it developed The Inner World: The Last Wind Monk in 2017, followed by 2021’s Say No! More, Minute of Islands and Lost at Sea. It was acquired by Thunderful in 2023 through the latter’s Headup subsidiary, which published the two Inner World games.
Looking ahead, Pieper said Fizbin’s final days would be ensuring Reignbreaker was ready for release, providing post-launch support, and “supporting our exceptionally talented team in finding new opportunities in the industry.” He candidly stated getting the word out about the studio’s last game was support in and of itself, and directed hiring managers to contact him for “amazing talent in a wide range of disciplines.”
“We want to thank every single one of our fans for your purchases, your fan art, your comments, your reviews, your passion, and your seemingly endless support,” he concluded. “We’d also like to give the biggest thanks to our team – those who are here until the end, and the many others who have found a different path on the way. Fizbin and its games are defined by its team members, and you all made this the most inspiring place to perform the world’s most difficult magic trick: making games. Thank you.”
In 2021, Game Developer spoke with Studio Fizbin’s game director Marius Winter, composer Julie Buchanan, and lead designer Nick Maierhöfer about Say No! More’s audio design and humor, which you can read here.