The gaming industry continues to see layoffs and studio shutdowns, and today brings another setback. A promising new online game has been cancelled because the company making it is likely to close down. This is especially disappointing because the studio was run by experienced developers who previously worked on the hugely successful game World of Warcraft at Blizzard. Unless something unexpected happens or the studio finds new investors, this game won’t be released. The studio says they are trying to find a solution, but it’s unclear if those efforts will be successful.
Fantastic Pixel Castle, a game studio founded by former Blizzard developers and backed by NetEase, is shutting down on November 17th. This news comes just two years after the studio launched, and means their upcoming MMO, Ghost, will no longer be developed.
Fantastic Pixel Castle will be closing on November 17th. We’re still hoping to get funding after that date, but it will depend on whether enough of our team stays on board.
Ghost was planned as a new online multiplayer game, but details were scarce. Greg Street, the head of the game studio, thanked fans for their support and hinted that more information might surface soon, possibly including concept art or gameplay footage. Fantastic Pixel Castle also suggested they might share some content about Ghost in the coming weeks.
NetEase, the company behind the popular game Marvel Rivals, began 2025 with a series of layoffs, impacting many developers and even entire studios like T-Minus Zero. While the company didn’t explain the reasons for these cuts, industry trends suggest they were likely due to financial performance.
It’s really bumming me out to see another MMO get the axe – New World just got canceled, and Amazon isn’t going to support it anymore. It feels like this is happening a lot lately, and it’s a worrying trend in the gaming world. Microsoft has been doing layoffs and shutting down studios too. I’m starting to think all this talk about AI in game development is making studios rely less on actual people. Plus, it feels like shareholders just want bigger and bigger profits, and they expect games to be huge hits right away. It’s like there’s this pressure cooker situation where if a game doesn’t look super promising, it gets canceled fast.
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2025-11-04 20:43