Rodeo Games, developer of Warhammer: 40K Deathwatch, is denying rumors that it is closing its doors.
Rumors began spreading that the studio may be shutting down after a former employer left an incriminating post on the TouchArcade forums on Feb. 9 hinting that the studio is in trouble. The poster, who goes by the handle RodeoMatthew on the forum, said:
“I and the majority of the team left 4 months ago, so afaik tthere’s [sic] no one to offer support or make content. Like most indie developers, you’re only as good as your last game, and even though Deathwatch was Rodeos highest metric game, it didn’t make enough so we had to move on.”
Rodeo Games released a statement after the post was made, implying that the rumors of its impending closure were, to say the least, greatly exaggerated:
“Despite Deathwatch being the best game we’ve created as a studio and our highest rated Metacritic game, the changes in market have meant that we are unable to continue development as we’d initially planned. Coupled with some personal issues within the team, Rodeo Games are currently taking a break from developing any new titles. The team will continue to support our existing titles.”
All in all, the Rodeo Games seems to be sending mixed messages. While denying closure rumors, the studio has publicly stated that it won’t be working on any new titles in the foreseeable future. Whether this is the precursor to a full studio shut-down or just the game equivalent of the band taking a break to work on solo albums for a while remains to be seen.