LogInThe developers at the studio were laid off, with the Founder blaming them for leaking information to the press.
Image credit: Undead Labs
On April 12, employees of Possibility Space, a studio established by State of Decay Producer Jeff Strain, were informed about the company's closure. Strain is known for co-founding ArenaNet, Undead Labs, and later, Possibility Space, which was developing an unannounced AAA project.
A week before the shutdown, Strain received an email from Kotaku reporter Ethan Gach with questions about Possibility Space's upcoming game, its publisher, and the closure of Crop Circle Games, another studio owned by Strain.
As it becomes evident from the letter below, which was published by Polygon, Strain was surprised that the information about the company's project and ongoing processes had been leaked to the reporters by current studio employees. Following this, Strain spoke with the game's publisher, who refused to provide financial backing.
People slammed Strain for blaming employees for the situation, especially as they were not involved in communications with the publisher. He was also accused of hypocrisy, having published an open letter in 2021 advocating for unions in the game industry while his wife, who co-owned the studios, expressed the belief that game developers should be treated better by studio executives.
Staff expressed frustration, stating they were dismissed without severance pay and calling the process disrespectful. Ethan Gach, the reporter at Kotaku who was mentioned earlier, plans to investigate the sudden closures of Crop Circle Games and Possibility Space, while Strain announced his departure from the industry with his studios' websites and profiles now closed.
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