HomeNewsUnknown 9: Awakening
Layoffs hit workers at Reflector Entertainment, makers of Unknown 9: AwakeningArt and narrative departments affected
Art and narrative departments affected
Image credit:Bandai Namco
Image credit:Bandai Namco
Unknown 9 is set in an alternate history earth, in which you play a “Quaestor” with special abilities, travelling the globe to fight a shadowy secret society. Bandai Namco liked the look of it enough to buy the studio in 2020, and there was enough invested in the world to produce two novels, a scripted podcast, and a comic book. It’s unclear from these layoffs whether the fictional world itself is also being retired or if Bandai Namco intend to keep it going. Reflector management claim that the layoffs are unrelated to the game’s performance, nor are they the result of publisher pressure.
As for Unknown 9 itself, the game seems to have sold quite poorly, and currently has an average “mixed” rating on Steam. It was arguably under-marketed for a game of its production values. We sawa 90-second teaser trailerin 2020, then heard no more about the game itself until earlier this year, when it reappeared to show off a mix of Tomb Raider adventuring, Assassin’s Creed conspiracy theories, and Star Wars force powers.
Former RPS editor Katharine Castle continues to earn her reputation asa hellish prophet, afterplaying a previewof the game earlier this year and speaking to the studio’s head of production Jean-Francois Deschamps. During which she suspected the game’s final months of creation would be a challenge.
