After half a year of uncertainty, Piranha Bytes, the once esteemed creators behind the Gothic, Risen, and ELEX franchises, has reportedly been shut down by the Embracer Group. On the positive side, key figures from the German studio have gone on to establish their own studio.
Back in January, Piranha Bytes announced that their future was uncertain. However, months later, it is believed that Embracer Group failed to find a buyer for the studio and decided to close it down. Embracer Group has faced significant challenges over the past year, including the shutdown of Volition after being unable to sell it following the financial flop that was the Saints Row reboot.
Recently, the Embracer Group announced that they had laid off 4,500 employees within the span of a year, additionally a deal worth $250 million saw Saber Interactive break away from the conglomerate.
Additionally, Embracer sold Gearbox Software to Take-Two Interactive at an astonishing $840 million loss compared to their original purchase price. This decision was likely driven by commercial failures such as Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and Tales from the Borderlands 2. The lead writer for these games, who also wrote Borderlands 3, a game criticized for its poor narrative, defended DEI consultation services and labeled gamers as bigots.
Furthermore, Randy Pitchford, CEO of Gearbox, appears to have spent more of Embracer’s capital on producing a hag-infested Hollywood movie loosely based on the Borderlands franchise.
Unlike other studios under Embracer, Piranha Bytes was not shut down due to their own financial failures but rather due to the parent company’s incompetence.
The Embracer Group acquired the rights to the Gothic franchise in 2019 after THQ Nordic purchased JoWooD, and that same year, Embracer bought Piranha Bytes. Instead of utilizing the German studio effectively, Embracer had them develop a third installment of ELEX instead of assigning them the Gothic remake.
The Gothic remake was instead handed to a start-up Spanish development firm, who has significantly altered Piranha Bytes iconic series.
Game development today is no longer sustainable. It takes significantly more time and money to develop a video game now than it did in the past. This issue is exacerbated by modern game studios being staffed by progressive activists who politicize their work and stifle creativity by adhering to globalist agendas funded by entities like BlackRock and Vanguard.
These studios often offload their games for curation by ESG/DEI-focused consultation firms like Sweet Baby Inc. to ensure they meet all “woke” criteria.
Given these factors, it is unsurprising that studios like Volition go under after consulting with Sweet Baby Inc., turning Saints Row, a franchise known for its depiction of gangsters into a sanitized, woke version featuring a cast of progressive millennials who would have been bullied by the original cast.
Piranha Bytes has also struggled as time move forward. While Gothic 1 and Gothic 2 are legendary games, Risen, a spiritual successor was also well-received, Gothic 3, Risen 2 and 3, and ELEX 1 and 2 did not enjoy the same success.
There has been no official word from Piranha Bytes or Embracer about the reported closure, but the situation speaks for itself. Embracer’s incompetence is evident in their decision to allocate the remake of the original Gothic to the unknown Spanish firm Alkimia Interactive instead of Piranha Bytes who have been in limbo since January.
The silver lining in this ordeal is that Piranha Bytes veterans Björn and Jennifer Pankratz are making a fresh start by establishing their own company, Pithead Studio.
Björn Pankratz has been a monumentally influential figure for the small German team. He co-founded Pluto 13 GmbH in 2002 and has been instrumental in the development of all Piranha Bytes video games, including Gothic 3, the Risen series, and the ELEX series ever since.
Pankratz took on the role of project manager starting with Gothic II in 2002, significantly shaping the direction of these iconic franchises. In addition to his managerial duties, he has actively contributed as a sound designer and composer for Gothic I and the ELEX series.
The Pankratz duo is charting a new course independent of Embracer with Pithead Studio, named after the exit shaft of a coal mine. This name signifies a return to their roots in the German region of Ruhr and marks a fresh beginning for the pair.
Pithead Studio plans to specialize in crafting “unique and immersive indie games.” Fans can anticipate dark action-adventures enriched with compelling stories, horror elements, and RPG mechanics.
Initially, the studio will collaborate with external partners, with ongoing discussions with potential publishers. Personally, I prefer a straightforward and historical looking RPG experience. The Gothic series, for instance, was groundbreaking in its time, offering a vast open-world experience with meaningful choices that shaped the narrative based on player actions. It featured a dynamic world where NPCs had their own routines, from work to eating and sleeping.
The game also featured a faction system where players could align themselves with one of three different camps at the start, each offering unique quests and benefits that altered the storyline as it progressed, enhancing replayability and depth.
It granted players a remarkable degree of freedom to explore the world at their own pace, tackle quests in any order, and make decisions that shaped the game’s outcome. However, navigating this dangerous world was a challenge in itself, the game didn’t hold your hand by telling you how to actually go about doing anything while portraying you as being weak, vulnerable and an insignificant figure throughout the early stages.
I could delve into the innovations of Gothic for hours, the intricate quest design that demanded actual investigation and multi-step processes rather than simple “go here, kill this.” Its dialogue system was equally sophisticated; player choices had tangible consequences, and a wrong move could result in your death.
For its time, Gothic was a remarkable title, a pioneering RPG experience that influenced many subsequent games and continues to outshine modern examples even decades later.
It’s genuinely heartbreaking to witness Piranha Bytes’ closure, but realistically, their fate seemed sealed since January. Despite their talent, they faced an uncertain future with no buyer in sight to revive them and allow the completion of ELEX 3. Fortunately, the studio’s key figures have embarked on a new venture and will likely succeed where others have failed.
I hope the Pankratz family focuses on creating RPG experiences akin to the earlier Gothic and Risen games, rather than undertaking a massive, intricate and graphically detailed project like the ELEX series right out of the gate. This approach could pave the way for a promising starting chapter in their journey.
For example, “The Chronicles Of Myrtana: Archolos,” a fan-made total conversion mod for Gothic II, serves as a substantial fan project. Released in December 2021, this free-to-play mod introduces a completely new open world with innovative gameplay mechanics and a complex, original story that expands upon the lore of the Gothic series.
Set on the island of Archolos, east of the Myrtana mainland, the mod includes expansive new regions like vineyards, farms, and the largest city ever seen in the Gothic trilogy. Players assume the role of Marvin, a young man escaping war, navigating the deceitful and opportunistic society of Archolos.
The mod’s deeply engaging narrative boasts over 170 quests, numerous random events, and multidimensional characters with credible backgrounds. It has garnered overwhelming praise from both Gothic series enthusiasts and newcomers alike, achieving a remarkable 98% positive review score on Steam from over 14,418 reviews.
“The Chronicles Of Myrtana: Archolos” stands as a testament to the possibility of creating a successful and immersive “modern” RPG experience while remaining true to the foundational principles and limitations established in 2002 with Gothic II. Built entirely on the same engine, it is a total conversion mod, a game constructed on the foundations of another.
I genuinely extend my best wishes to Björn and Jennifer Pankratz and Pithead Studio. As a fan of the Gothic series, I eagerly anticipate seeing their future creations, especially amidst the backdrop of other major game developers and publishers downsizing or facing closures.
