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Former Fable devs reveal a new co-op RPG, then announce its development is on hold amid layoffsFlaming Fowl will shift to a smaller game they can fund themselves
Flaming Fowl will shift to a smaller game they can fund themselves
Image credit:Flaming Fowl Studios
Image credit:Flaming Fowl Studios
The developers behindFablecard game spin-offFable Fortuneand the digital adaptation of dungeon-crawling board gameGloomhavenhave revealed a new upcoming co-opRPG… only to announce at the same time that the upcoming game’s development has been put on pause amid layoffs at the studio and difficulty finding funding.
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After that, Flaming Fowl stuck with the melding of tabletop and digital, bringing chunky fantasy adventure Gloomhaven - which is a bit like Dungeons & Dragons as a board game, but with crunchy card-driven combat - to PCvia early access in 2019. Lik the tabletop original,it was pretty cracking.
Image credit:Flaming Fowl Studios
Unfortunately, that demo might be all we get of Ironmarked for a while, as alongside revealing the game and launching its demo, Flaming Fowlannouncedthat they would be putting the game’s production on hold and had laid off multiple staff in an effort to “downsize”.
The studio attributed the unfortunate combination of events to “the current lack of funding in the games industry”, with the release of Ironmarked’s demo both an effort to secure future funding for the game and, somewhat soberingly, provide a portfolio for those now needing to find employment elsewhere in the industry. (With the number of developers I see on social media often expressing frustration at so much of their work being locked behind NDAs for cancelled projects, this is at least a welcome change.)
With Ironmarked on pause until funding is raised, Flaming Fowl said they would shift to developing something smaller that they’re able to fund themselves.
It’s a fairly tragic situation for the studio, albeit one that’ssadly far from rare these days. Good luck to those former Flaming Fowl folks looking for their next job, and to those still at the studio working on whatever comes next.
