Polygon received word from a former employee of Molten Games report that the developer officially closed its doors on March 24th, 2014. The company was founded last year by veterans from Blizzard Entertainment, Relic Entertainment, and Sony Online Entertainment
Molten Games has been embroiled with recent reports of lay-offs and a project cancellation. Speculations of possible closure arose when it was known that the entire staff was laid off. However, a post on IGDA San Diego's Facebook page suggested otherwise as the company is actively "seeking funding to continue development." While that provided a spark of optimism, it appeared that the developer was unsuccesful in acquiring additional funding as time passed.
Korean development company NCSoft was asked to comment on Molten Games closure since it invested in the latter. A rep told GI.biz that "We did not participate in any management, so it's not our place to comment about the state of business." NCSoft reportedly funded Molten Games' free-to-play, online triple-A PC title through a multi-million dollar investment.
This title is most likely the cancelled Project Blunderbuss that the company's former employees were referring to. Former art director Billy Ahlswede wrote about the project's cancellation and shared a video of the gameplay called "Watch Your Six." In addition, Technology director Joshua Kriegshauser shared the same news and tweeted a different video that introduced the characters. The game was originally scheduled for release on August 2015.
It is worth noting that their website remains active and has not been updated according to the company's recent closure. However, it can be expected that it will be changed or shut down anytime soon.
While this was an unfortunate development, former employees have noted how well the company handled the layoffs compared to other studios in the video game industry. Molten Games has been reportedly helping its former employees by connecting them to recruiters and hosting job fairs with other companies.
We wish the employees at Molten Games the very best in their future endeavors.
