Sad news: The German development studio Pyranha Bytes, known for Gothic, Risen and Elex, has closed down.
The closure of Piranha Bytes, the German developer behind successful RPGs like Gothic, Risen, and Elex, marks the end of an era in the German video game industry. The news comes less than half a year after Piranha Bytes publicly acknowledged its difficult situation and tried to find a way to continue game development and keep the studio alive.
Embracer Group And The End Of Piranha Bytes
The closure was first reported by the Polish gaming website CD Action, citing a former employee who stated that the studio closed at the end of June after Embracer Group failed to find a buyer.Shortly after this report, former Creative Director Björn Pankratz announced the founding of a new indie studio named Pithead Studio, together with his wife and longtime Piranha Bytes veteran Jennifer. "We wanted to keep doing what we love," Pankratz said in a video announcing the studio. "This seemed like the best way to do it."Piranha Bytes is not directly mentioned in the video, but a message in the Pithead Studio Discord suggests an unfortunate end:
"As you sure noticed, the gaming industry was not doing well last year. This was also the case for the Embracer Group, to which THQ Nordic and Piranha Bytes belong. A lot of studios had to close, thousands of people in the gaming industry worldwide lost their jobs. Sadly, Piranha Bytes was also affected by this.."
A separate statement confirms that Gothic, Risen and Elex will remain under THQ Nordic, the brand under which Piranha Bytes operated. However, Pithead Studio has no knowledge of the future of Piranha Bytes and has no influence over it.
"All we know is that Alkimia Interactive from Spain is working on an Elex remake," Pithead stated. "We are not included in the making of the remake in any form, and therefore have no influence on it. Therefore, we are as excited as you are and will follow it with curiosity."
The End Of An Era And What The Future Will Bring
Although Piranha Bytes was not a "major" studio, it left a deep mark on the PC gaming landscape. Founded in 1997, their first game was the 2001 fantasy RPG Gothic.
Piranha Bytes established itself as a developer of challenging Eurojank games - exactly the kind of games that have a small but dedicated fan base. This reputation was cemented over the years with two more Gothic RPGs, the Risen RPG trilogy, and the two Elex games.
In 2019, Piranha Bytes was acquired by THQ Nordic, which is owned by the Embracer Group. This came atW a time when Embracer was "buying everything that wasn't nailed down," but it eventually fell victim to the collapse of a $2 billion investment deal. This led to hundreds of layoffs by 2023 and 2024, and the closure of other studios such as Volition, Free Radical, and Pieces Interactive.
A message posted on the Piranha Bytes website in January seeking a partner for their new project has been removed. The message was accessible via the Wayback Machine until early June, now only the studio's logo and contact details remain.