author: Bart Swiatek
Defiant Developments in Trouble; Hand of Fate Devs Forced to Close
Australian studio Defiant Developments has announced that it will no longer create new video games. Due to the poor financial situation, the company is now to deal only with support for existing titles. Many developers will have to find a new job.
IN A NUTSHELL:
- Defiant Developments studio will not create new games;
- The company will provide support for existing titles and its employees will have to look for new employment.
Australian studio Defiant Development - the creators of the Hand of Fate series - announced in a note on Facebook that the team will no longer create new titles. The company will now deal only with support for existing games, and existing team members will be forced to look for a new job (the entry does not specify how many people will lose their jobs, but the underlying message is quite clear - the studio is preparing to close). As you can guess, the decision was made because of the poor financial situation of the developer.
"The Defiant model has always focused on creating games nobody else would. Games that reflected the skills and passions of our team. Games that did something new. Our process has always been focused on iteration and exploration. We go into dark places, searching for hidden treasures. We set out without knowing where the journey will take us, and we do so knowing that the unknown is not always safe.
That is a risky way to make games, and we knew that. When it succeeds it delivers things you could never have considered possible. When it fails, it leaves you without a safety net. The games market has changed in ways both big and small in the 9 years we've been in business. We have not been able to change quickly enough to continue with them," the note reads.
The company was founded in 2010 and has completed two projects - both of them were installments of the Hand of Fate series, which combines RPG with elements card and tabletop games. In the past, the developers also worked on WARCO: The News Game - an unusual production that was supposed to make it possible to become a war reporter reporting on armed conflicts in Africa and the Middle East. The title was intended for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 PCs and consoles, but unfortunately it was cancelled.
Taking this opportunity, the creators also shared the first trailer of their would-be next project. It was called A World in My Attic.
The last completed game from Defiant Developments - Hand of Fate 2 - was released at the end of 2017, in versions for the current generation of PC and consoles (PlayStation 4 and Xbox One). A few months later, a port for Nintendo Switch was also released.
