Piranha Bytes closed. The end of the studio behind Gothic, Risen and Elex

CD-Action source (a Piranha Bytes employee, with whom we had been in contact since the first information about the studio's crisis situation) informed us, that the company responsible for the creation of Gothic ceased operations at the end of June.

The crisis had been going on for a long time, but from time to time investors appeared on the horizon interested in helping the studio continue its operations. According to the information provided to us, the project was expected to be financed in the amount of 3 million euros. After all, Piranha Bytes remained one of the most popular game developers in Germany. Unfortunately, in the end, Piranha was not bought out, and the financing from Embracer let them operate only until June 2024. In the meantime, many employees had left to the company, opting for more secure employment. A few days before the material was published, the company's office looked like this:

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Our source told us, that - after the possible buyout - Piranha Bytes planned to set a new direction, in contrast to the last games created under the command of Bjorn Pankratz (who, together with his wife, left Piranha Bytes in November last year and today announced the founding of the Pithead studio), i.e. the Elex series, and to create a new dark fantasy game on Unreal Engine 5. The new game was supposed to resemble Gothic, to which Piranha Bytes did not have the rights. In December, the lighting and animations were further refined, which, according to the informant, had previously been the cause of considerable criticism from players.

The last CEO of Piranha Bytes was Michael Rueve. At this point, he has not commented on the fate of the company, but according to our information, the studio will most likely not make any official statements, allowing itself to leave peacefully and quietly.