Embracer has closed Alone in the Dark studio Pieces Interactive

Pieces Interactive, the developer of the Alone in the Dark reboot that launched earlier this year, has been shut down by parent company Embracer Group.

Word of the closure came via Pieces Interactive's Twitter feed, which posted an image containing the studio's logo and the message «Pieces Interactive: 2007-2024. Thanks for playing with us.»

The studio's website now carries the same image, as well as a longer message detailing the studio's history since its founding in 2007. «In 2017, Pieces Interactive were acquired by Embracer Group after working with the expansion for Titan Quest, Titan Quest: Ragnarök and third expansion for Titan Quest, Titan Quest: Atlantis,» the message says. «Our last release was the reimagining of Alone in the Dark.»

Pieces Interactive's Alone in the Dark reboot was good stuff. We called it «an intelligent reimagining of the 1992 classic» in our 76% review that, despite bugs and some occasional over-reliance on combat, delivered «the best Alone in the Dark game since 1992.»

Despite that, the game apparently didn't sell very well. In Embracer's 2023-24 full year financial report, the company said sales of Alone in the Dark were «softer than expected,» and «performed below management expectations.»

Embracer's THQ Nordic division confirmed with PC Gamer that Pieces Interactive has been closed, but declined to comment further. 

The closure comes just three days after Galvanic Games announced its own shutdown due to inadequate sales of its most recent release, Wizard with a Gun; June has also seen layoffs and studio closures at Behaviour Interactive, Sumo Group, and Avalanche.

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