Gothic, Elex Developer Pirahna Bytes Has Reportedly Shut Down
After months of silence, it appears the worst has happened to the decades-old studio.
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Piranha Bytes, the developer of series such as Elex, Gothic, and Risen, has been shut down. The studio was owned by Embracer, which had been seeking a buyer for the German developer as part of its ongoing cost-cutting restructuring following failed $2 billion deal with Saudi Arabia-backed Savvy Games Group last year.
It was reported that Pirahna Bytes was looking for a new publisher following job cuts last year. In January, following a period of radio silence and inactivity from the studio, CEO Micahel Rüve addressed reports of an impending closure by stating the company was in a “difficult situation” while expressing optimism about finding a partner by saying, “Don’t write us off yet!”
However, German website GameStar (as surfaced by Eurogamer) published a story reporting the studio was officially shut down in late June. Despite this report, there still has not been an official announcement of closure from Embracer or Pirahna (the studio's website remains inactive, however), and details about what exactly happened are scarce. Game Informer has contacted Pirahna's publisher THQ Nordic for comment and will update this story with a response should we receive one.
