Game studio Possibility Space suddenly closes, owner blames Kotaku report that hasn't been published yet

It's despairingly common to hear about game studios closing lately, but I don't think I've ever heard a studio owner blame their company's closure on leaked information that has yet to be made public. That's what happened today when every employee at Possibility Space, a young studio whose first game hasn't been revealed, was suddenly laid off.

Employees received news of Possibility Space's closure «in a nice surprise morning email» today, according to a former senior environment artist at the studio. 

That email was acquired by Polygon reporter Nicole Carpenter. In the memo, Possibility Space founder Jeff Strain 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 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 the 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.

In a bizarre studio closure and layoff message to staff, Possibility Space owner Jeff Strain blamed the studio closure on employees leaking information to the press. pic.twitter.com/d4OHrm3z2NApril 12, 2024

Annie Delisi Strain disclosed that diagnosis last week in an open letter (archived