Pieces Interactive, the developer behind the recent Alone in the Dark reboot, was shuttered by its parent company, Embracer Group, after the mixed reception of the survival-horror game.
Alone in the Dark was the first major commercial outing for Sweden-based development studio Pieces Interactive—and it’s also the last. The official Twitter/X account for the company released its swan song post on June 17 after months of uncertainty following the release of Alone in the Dark.
A May report from Embracer Group on its recent financial results stated that Alone in the Dark “performed below management expectations.” Alone in the Dark also received a mixed critical reception. While Dot gave it a 9/10, the average Metacritic score is 66, with many criticisms noting the game’s weak combat, underwhelming puzzles, and lack of many original survival-horror mechanics as reasons Alone in the Dark doesn’t cut it.
This is unfortunate news for fans of the Alone in the Dark series, many of whom were hoping for a sequel confirmation after years of the horror franchise lying dormant. It’s unknown if the series will return to dormancy or be handed over to a different developer by Embracer Group.
Despite Embracer Group’s report on Alone in the Dark‘s below-expectation sales, other reports stated the horror title had promising numbers and that the game had more than $1 million in sales in its first week. Unfortunately, in the current industry climate of mass layoffs and studio shutdowns, even Alone in the Dark breaking even on its budget likely isn’t enough to stay afloat.
Embracer Group and THQ Nordic have yet to issue statements on the shutdown of Pieces Interactive. The only word on it at this time is the brief social media post from Pieces Interactive itself.
