Frostpunk 2 Devs Cancels Project 8 With Portion Of Staff Being Laid Off

11 Bit Studios is known for games like This War of Mine, and most recently, they brought out Frostpunk 2. Their next game in the works to see a launch in 2025 will be The Alters. However, one project in particular won’t see the light of day. Project 8 was unveiled to be their first console-focused game release. But now it’s been killed off.

Thanks to a report from Gamespot, we’re finding out that 11 Bit Studios revealed they had canceled one of their projects being developed. Przemysław Marszał, the President of the Management Board of 11 Bit Studios, took to the official Investor Relations page for the company and unveiled that Project 8 is no longer being pursued. The game was, apparently, the first console-focused title from the company, and it was initially developed back in 2018.

A few obstacles would eventually cause the game to see its demise. One key component that made the game no longer desirable to the studio was the change in appeal for gaming. It was noted that developers made this title initially as a narrative-driven, story-rich game. However, they felt this no longer had as strong an appeal with gamers today.

Then there was the pandemic, which resulted in difficulties getting development to progress, but they continued to push onward. That ultimately led to delays, reevaluations, and changes, and as you know, this only continues to blow up the budget. So, after one last review, the assessment from 11 Bit Studios was that this game would no longer be deemed profitable if they continued to work on the title.

We’re told that 37 members from 11 Bit Studios were working on the game as of September 2024. More than half will be moved to other projects while the others are being laid off. As for Project 8, it seems like there are assets the studio feels could be used in other projects in the future, so not everything is being scrapped from the time developers spent making this game.