In the memo, Possibility Space owner Jeff Strain, who previously co-founded ArenaNet and Undead Labs, tells the studio’s staff that he was recently contacted by Kotaku reporter Ethan Gach with questions about the closure of Crop Circle Games, another studio he owned with wife Annie Delisi Strain under their company Prytania Media.

Gach’s questions included “non-public information” about Possibility Space’s [unreleased] first game, Jeff Strain said in the e-mail, as well as confidential Prytania Media business information, including the identity of its publishing partner. Jeff was shocked, he said, to learn that the information had come from current employees. He claimed that after disclosing the leak to their publishing partner, the company “expressed low confidence they would be willing to invest the additional resources needed to complete the game.” Jeff and the unnamed publishing partner then “mutually agreed to cancel” the project.

The letter goes on to announce that Possibility Space is closing immediately, and concludes with the note that Jeff is “stepping away from the game industry” to focus on his family and care for his wife, who recently disclosed a serious medical diagnosis.

  • Match!!@pawb.social
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    7 months ago

    I guess I’m looking forward to the Kotaku report about what the presumably terrible game was going to be

    • Zugyuk@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Don’t forget the abusive management, there must be a large amount of horribleness

  • MrStankov@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    When did making games become such a secretive business? Like, oh no! Someone found out what our next game is about! So what?

    • MajorHavoc@programming.dev
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      7 months ago

      But now they will also have the idea to make a procedurally generated exploration game with building mechanics! We’ve lost our secret sauce! /s

  • fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com
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    7 months ago

    If I had to guess, I’d say there were already issues with production, and the leak made that public to investors. Especially with the “low confidence” statement.