Following a massive string of poor timing, bad luck and (maybe?) over-confidence, Cliff Bleszinski studio, Boss Key Productions, has officially shut down. The news comes just a month after the studio announced the end of support for their flagship first-person shooter, Lawbreakers.
Taking to Twitter Bleszinski announced the sad news. He also added that servers for their battle royale title, Radical Heights, will remain up for the foreseeable future.
“As of today, Boss Key Productions is effectively no more.”
“Four years ago I set out to make a world class video game studio and I hired some of the best talent in the videogame industry. They worked tirelessly to produce quality products and, while we had our ups and downs, I’d like to think we had fun doing it. LawBreakers was a great game that unfortunately failed to gain traction, and, in a last ditch attempt we scrambled to do our take on the huge battle royale genre with Radical Heights which was well received, however, it was too little too late.”
“As for myself, I’m going to take some time off and reflect. I need to focus on myself and family as well as my Aussie, Teddy, who is slowly fading from us. Videogames will forever be a part of who I am and I hope to make something new again someday, however, I need to withdraw and take this time.”
“To those of you who have supported myself and the studio these last four years, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart and everyone who came to work for me.”
“Please note that servers for Radical Heights will remain up for the near future.”
It’s always a pity to see studios shut down, but sometimes it works for the people involved – allowing them to move onto bigger and greater things. Which may be why Blizzard reached out to the ex-staffers from Boss Key Productions to encourage them to apply for a job within Blizzard, which hopefully can at least help some of the affected employees.
