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Possibility Space closes down, founder blames staff leaksSecond Prytania Media studio to close this year
Second Prytania Media studio to close this year
“Much of it was expected but I was also stunned to see non-public information about Project Vonnegut, disclosure of our publishing partner with details of our business and financial relationship, and details of internal P&L discussions and confidential all-company meetings. Mr. Gach specifically credits current employees as the source of his information.
The message goes on to say that today (April 12th) is the last day of employment for all staff, and that a final paycheck will be deposited for work up until that day. There is also no guarantee of any severance pay, with Strain writing that it will take a “few more days” to calculate the studio’s remaining financial obligations and “determine what we can offer for severance.”
Possibility Space wasfounded in 2021as a fully remote studio, and immediately attracted known talent from throughout the industry including formerFirewatchandHalf-Life: Alyxlead environment artist Jane Ng,Watch Dogs: Legion designer Liz England, and former games journalist and Waypoint editor-inc-chief Austin Walker. (England and Ng had since left the company.) The studio never announced a project, but at its inception Strain told IGN they had “big ambitious goals and the resources to match those big ambitious goals.”
In March, another Prytania studio, Crop Circle Games, closed down after two years of work on a prototype that “did not find financial support for further development,” according to a statement released at the time.
Shortly thereafter, a further statement was released which has since been deletedbut which can still be accessed via the Wayback Machine. In the message, former CEO Annie Delisi Strain also mentioned Ethan Gach, but in that instance expressed concern that she had not yet been approached for comment on an article seemingly being written about the studio for Kotaku.
Some Crop Circle staff said the studio’s closure - and a furlough of some staff that preceded it - was handled in “the messiest, least respectful way imaginable,” asGame Developer reported.
Prytania seemingly have two remaining studios: Fang & Claw, and Dawon Entertainment.
Possibility Space staff have been tweeting about their availability for hire over the past 24 hours. The company website has been taken down but you can findthe staff page on the Web Archive, as always. Possibility Space’s former IP Director Austin Walker has also beentweeting about those now unemployed colleagues looking for work. Give them a look if you’re in the position to hire game developers.
