Legendary RPG Studio Piranha Bytes is Closing Down after 26 Years?
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OST: Elex 1 OST
#rpgs #c4g #piranhabytes - เกม
I forgot to mention that Gothic remake has nothing to do with this. It's still coming out, because it's not being developed by Piranha Bytes.
Was about to ask.
I really hope so.
I wish it wasn't.
Gothic remake is made by a talentless studio and published by THQ, so dont worry.
@@Hpalhazredhow do you know they are talentless? Im pretty sure this is their first project.
We will never forget what they achieved.
Hopefully the ex members get together and form a new studio.
Why? To continue making mediocrities and eventually close down too?
@@sygmarvexarion7891 Unique games are awesome and good for the industry but sadly they are commercially unviable in modern decade.
@@diamondhamster4320 They're unviable because they're bad. Good content is always succesful.
@@sygmarvexarion7891 So Call of Duty is Good Content? Always Good Content? Or countless garbo Sports games like FIFA???
@@diamondhamster4320 If a piece of content has a lot of people engaging with it, then it's good content even if you personally don't like it.
If a game is played by 10 people, it's not because it's unique, it's because it's garbage.
sad news. the games they have made, especially Gothic 1 & 2, have been with me since a young age. Much love
me 2
3 was my first Gothic game i past it so many times on all endings and dlc different stories . Could never get into 1 or 2 sadly.
They created only 2 games and risen 1. Company nothing gives good product... since then
Those are poverty games. Diablo 4 is way better.
@@TravisH-nm9fy lmao nice cope
The Gothic series, the only games that weren't games for me.
They have been my second home. I wasn't playing, I was there.
I was in New Camp selling and smoking -weed- swampweed, I was in the Orc Temple, in the Valley of Mines, in Braga, or Nordmar.
And the Community has been great for over 20 years, creating mods and patches.
Even now, I'm playing Archolos The Chronicles of Myrtana, and it's amazing to find the same spirit in a free game made by fans.
Thank you PB.
Well said. Me too.
Well said man. The problem, though, is that Chronicles of Myrtana is actually THE best Gothic game ever made - yes, even better than Gothic 2, and I don't say that lightly. It's basically like good ole Gothic BUT EVEN BETTER, which I didn't think was possible. Why is this a problem, you ask? WELLLLLL, it is a problem, in my book, because it shows how much PB has changed. It's not just different worlds/different game mechanics/what have you - no. Risen 2, Risen 3, Elex and Elex 2 just don't have the OG PB spark, they don't have the writing, the characters, hell, almost anything that made the Gothic games and Risen 1 so beloved. And that is what CoM Archolos has. In spades. And that's what gets me - why does the community understand PB games better than PB does? And the answer is - because they've just changed too many team members, and much like today's Bioware or Bethesda, we cannot expect the games we want from PB anymore, even if they survive this crisis :(
Chronicles of Myrtana is shoulder to shoulder with Gothic 2. Better than Risen 1 and all the other games, for sure.@@nexarath
Risen and Gothic were great times as a kid, cheers to PB shame to hear it. ❤
I was reading that Björn Pankratz left PB last November over creative differences. The remaining staff has also been laid off. A company without its people is not a company anymore. Elex 2 was apparently a financial failure. Embracer has been pulling funding from many projects in the concept stage such as Elex 3. It's more than likely that PB is gone for good. Such a sad moment in gaming history.
Not a sad moment but about time. The elex game were a disaster. They had no soul. I know, Larian might be a generic example but I just watched a documentary about how they made divinity 2 os cause I am replaying it again (played it muich before bg3) and you can see how good studios work. Piranha Bytes used to be good but that was more than 20 years ago.
@@bdarecords_ I think Elex 1 was great actually. Risen 2 and Risen 3 were terrible.
I've heard some very bad things about Embracer tbh
@@bdarecords_ too bad playing DOS 2 made me feel as if Larian lost it's soul by removing writing team. I don't know what the hell happened but this was insulting after excellence of DOS 1 storytelling. It was such a dissapointment that even if on documentaries it's all sunshine and rainbows game alone was giving me clear sign that whatever I loved about Larian playing Divine Divinity or DOS 1 is gone and is never coming back.
I kept poking myself in head why they try to do a Pillars of Eternity plot, in Divinity franchise that is 100% already NOT fitting for said plot from get go. If Steam wasn't so stingy with refunds I would very much want a DOS 2 refund because I felt robbed.
@@cracmar03 that' actually not true. The HIRED actual writers for DOS2. DOS1 didn't have dedicated writers and didn't have consistency. I also loved the story of DOS1, but it's simply not true, that they got rid of original writers, when they didn't have any in the first place.
Very sad news, hopefully not true. It would really suck to lose a studio like that. They just know how to make beautiful and interesting worlds, where every nook and cranny is worth exploring, because something could always be hidden around the next corner. I'm definitely one of the latecomers when it comes to loving Piranha Bytes. My first game of theirs was Elex 1 ... yes, the combat could have been a lot better, but once you got used to it, it wasn't all that bad. Hopefully they keep on making the games we know and love ... and in case the news turn out to be true, I wish all the members of the studio good luck in life and I hope that they find a way to keep the spirit of their games alive.
The Gothic games are a big part of my childhood and the reason why I love RPG games. Very sad News man. I wish every Employer only the best.
employee you mean?
On the one hand it's sad to see another legacy studio go but on the other hand they peaked woth Gothic 2 which came out 20 years ago. Sure Gothic 3 wasn't their fault but every game after failing to live up to or advance their design is on them. Still R.I.P
Gothic 3 would have been amazing
The only reason they could keep going for so long was a lot of good will from the fan base due to gothic 1 and 2 so this was inevitable as their games sadly didnt improve over the time
Gothic 1 and 2 are legendary but the Risen games were pretty amazing too. Especially Risen 1.
I never played the Gothic games but tried their Risen and Elex and yuck, the games were mid tier at best, especially Elex. It really doesn’t surprise me because they haven’t had massive success in terms of sales for like a decade and more.
@@dannykuang9433You should check out the Gothic series then! It’s hands down their best IP and games they made
Yeah Risen and Elex were very bad compared to Gothic and were not good enough to compete with quality RPGs they came out against. Gothic struggled vs Morrowind at the time and they were actually good games.
They hadn't made a great game since 2002, G3 was decent enough. I tried as far as Risen 1 from loyalty and it was okay but I zoned out after that and the reviews of the newer games were meh.
Still replay G2 all the time, they should be closing if they can't outdo what they did 20 years ago
As much as it sucks to see them shut down. I think it was inevitable since they seemed like a studio who just were just stuck in the past and never evolved.
exactly.
PB's games have a lot of issues, but "stuck in the past" is not really what I would call any of their games.
not every game needs to be like skyrim.
@@jimmythecrowThank god their games weren't like Skyrim. PB made better action RPGs than 99% of the AAA studios. Yes, they were eurojank to the core, unrefined, but very enjoyable. In the meanwhile Skyrim is a downgrade compared to its predecessors and basically a sleepwalk without mods.
lol they were stuck way in the past wtf you mean they weren't. @@robinmattheussen2395
I hope they at least finish Elex 3. I was looking forward to playing that
that would suck as I really enjoyed the first 2, granted I liked 1 more than 2. Would like to see a final game though.
This is a rare case where I like what German laws do. If it was an american studio they would be closed down already.
I really hope that most of Piranha Bytes stays and that they manage to keep making games. I also wonder if Björn's wife, who also works at PB has left the company as well
Socialism is a great thing, it is the only thing that has brought us 8h workdays, 5 days per week and paid leave.
The biggest issue is that real socialism or caring about workers has been sabotaged by corporate politics involving identity and racial bias in order to have workers without families and friends that are easily exploitable.
They definitely need development help. I always thought they should make a game with Deck13.
Totally possible that a lot of PB people find a new job at Deck13 - Imagine Deck13 doing a Gothic Style RPG and combine that with their own knowledge
Dam, I am just getting into my first Gothic lets play and was planning to do all the games, I still will but sad to know nothing more will come from this studio. Hopefully some members work together on more RPG projects
Gothic 1 and 2 was my childhood so I will always remember PB fondly but let's be honest, they haven't made anything truly great since a long time. Risen 1 was the last PB game I actually enjoyed and that was almost 15 years ago.
This video just ruined my day. This is tragic news to me. No more Elex? I'm sure a lot of developers will keep the spirit of Gothic/Risen and Elex alive. Kai, Bjorn and the rest will not be forgotten. Live on at another studio. I'll be following.
The best solution would be for employees from Piranha Bytes to join the Alkimia, or maybe merge the 2 studios together.
Now that is very unlikely to happen, but one can dream and be delusional, eh?
F [*] Piranha Bytes, thanks for the Gothics and Risen 1 and 2 ( i kinda don’t care about the other games they made to be blunt lmao)
The team wanted to work on gothic remake meanwhile he wanted to work on elex 3, pretty simple
Another one bites the dust..! Sad day indeed, many of my fav studios are now lost to the annals of oblivion - Black Isle, Nival, Lionhead, Ensemble, Visceral, and now the legendary Piranha Bytes joins the list! Spider got acquired too back in 2019. Ambitious indie developers have always been instrumental in bringing innovation and advancement to the RPG world, with Larian's rise being the most recent example. I hope THQ finds a way to sustain the legacy and the know-how of almost three decades.
I am so sad. I love all their games
surprised to see so much piranha bytes hate in the comments, I thought elex 1 was their best game by far since gothic 2 and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Even Elex 2, which I didnt enjoy all that much, still had a world worth exploring and a cool new faction. I really hope they stick around, cause nobody does games quite like they do. Like, can anybody even recommend me any other RPG series where you genuinely start from zero and are treated like a nobody by everyone and get defeated by freaking rats at the start? You aren't the chosen one, you start as a total loser. The progression system (joining a faction, leveling up, etc.) and the handcrafted world feel still scratches an itch for me that no other game series quite manages to do.
Well said. My thoughts exactly. I think their games get better after each release. I have not played Elex 2, but I hear it improves a lot of things. Jet pack for one.
I really enjoyed Elex as well, but I actually think Risen 1 is their best game after G2.
I think the majority of people would either say Risen 1 or Gothic 3 is their favorite (post Gothic 2), and I can definitely see arguments for either of them (Gothic 3 was an incredibly ambitious project that got elevated by mods, Risen 1 had pretty good combat, soundtrack, atmosphere and felt fairly polished all around), but I think Elex 1 just has the coolest and most well crafted world to explore since Gothic 2. Big but not too big, a ton of variety in landscape, a lot of NPCs to talk with, interesting factions, and the scifi/fantasy setting worked out surprisingly well. Also loved the jetpack and the vertical exploring. If Elex 1 had better combat it might honestly almost be on par with Gothic 2 for me.
Embracer's buying spree was catastrophic for the gaming industry.
Dam this hits 😢
I hope some of the members find their way to participate in the Gothic remake
Wow what terrible news if true. I really loved all their games, but Elex gave me a ton of joy recently. Certainly these games are the reason I found this channel.
I'm sorry for your loss, C4G. 😔🥀
Really! Wow im surprised!
Honestly it's kind of surprising it didn't happen sooner. At some point you think someone would've tried to make slight cut backs on the ambition of a game and use those resources to make something that wasn't full of jank. I like a janky small team game, but nearly 30 years and not one polished game says something about how a studio is run.
Thank you for covering this. I'll be heartbroken without PB games anymore, if that's what happens.
I remember when people thought embracer group might be a good thing, encouraging AA and more indie style games. Turns out they've acquired and shut down, just like EA.
And now they will sit on the IPs to the end of days not letting anyone make a sequel to their games.
This may even be a good thing if the ex-pyranha could found an indie studio and develop a new IP, obviously they would have to rethink their AA way of working to adapt to something more indie. Their situation seems similar to what happens with Blizzard, all the originals who worked on their greatest hits left the company and founded new studios that managed to maintain the essence that Blizz lost years ago.
Sad to hear honestly, PB made some really underrated classics with Elex being one of my favourites, rip PB
I played Gothic 2 and finished it like ten years ago, it was my best gaming experience ever. I just finished Gothic 3 for the first time, and i cried during the ending (LOL). It was like so much memories and experiences put together.
Demolishing news indeed
Sad on one hand I guess, but on the other hand I feel like they've been running in place on a treadmill as a developer for years. Like basically every game they've made has been some shade of Gothic 2.
That is soul crushing news to wake up to… Pyranha Bytes closing… they existed longer than I am alive and now there won’t be another of their games
We all know that the true genius behind PB was Mike Hoge and Kai. Sadly, to many bad things happened that make this studio never get to the praise they deserve. After Mike and Kai left, the studio went downfall.
I just saw this news. and god damn this is heart wrenching.
That’s really sad, but I guess that’s what you get for not developing a good combat system in 26 years, lol. I always compare them to Spiders, a studio that LEAPS in quality from one game to the next. Specially when it comes to combat.
Sadly Spiders got bought by French EA like company (Nacon). They were forced to make Soulslike clone Steelrising. They are now working on Greedfall 2 though. I wish them luck, but I'm not hopefull, Nacon is bad.
RIIIP, i love all their games tbh. I have good memories
Not matter, because none of the original team is there, piranha bytes cease to exist when the founders left , is only the name.
Apologies for my grammar, English is not my native language, I learned (some) curiously playing gothic.
I agree. Unfortunately the people that made the original team are long gone. In different companies/industries and some died too.
Hello, Click4Gameplay. Im fellow RPG fan and small local creator. I just wanted to ask if the info about Bjorn seems to be unrelated (to the end of the studio) to you? Because afaik he left in November as some others, not before. And it seems that they got funding for Elex 3 before then end. So even if Bjorn and the team had different opinions its not important now because in the end he just left when studio was going to close down.
BUT there is also an idea - if the funding is pretty flexible then it means that new studio could use it to create new Gothic while Bjorn wanted to use it for Elex 3. So this way the news about Bjorn is important and related - if they will be saved, of course. What do you think?
Note - new Gothic is not possible. Because Gothic IP stays with THQ. So maybe there was some debate to convince THW to do new Gothic. But it didnt end any conclusion because of the stutdown.
i never saw the industry like that, studios closings doors or massive layoffs.
Larian Studios is number 1 for me since Divine Divinity.
Piranha Bytes is number 2 for me since Gothic 1.
CD-Projekt RED is number 3 for me since Witcher 1.
Gothic 2. Was my first RPG and still to this day, nostalgia or not, remains my favorite
Sad to hear this, and thank you Piranha.
Take care man!
I'm just seeing this. 😢
Very sad that Bjorn "moved on" from Gothic.. By doubling-down on Elex he killed the studio
Hopefully the people from PB who wanted to work on Gothic are working on the Remake now
Elex is my favorite series. I would love to see elex 3
"Currywurst - presumably a reference to the City of Essen" 😂😂😂
Gothic 3 (in memory forever)best rpg all time⚔️
Probably the games i played the most during my childhood and adulthood. Sad day indeed.
I loved Elex and Elex 2. Always enjoyed finding games like these that are not super hyped but are fun to play. Fills in down time in my RPG play between the bigger names.
A Truly sad day for Rpg gamers and Piranha Bytes.. I grew up with Gothic and it was my first real rpg adventure .. Much love, respect and thanks to Piranha staff for some amazing games.. It really is sad.. Good luck to all staff😢❤
Can you imagine even if they somehow get back together in a new studio it will take a long time to get another great RPG from them because they will basically have to create a new universe and lore again.
I played Risen on my xb360 back in days and enjoyed it. very good game.
Damn, I feel the hurt in yout voice and I feel it, too. This is a grave loss.
atleast we have a very great community for gothic , which will continue unofficially patching the games and creating more content❤
which will get even bigger after gothic remake launches 😊
Mod authors need to release mods in their own language and English. There are too many mods that are only in eg. German. Reading subtitles sucks. The mod Valaya even has an option for slower subtitles.
Very sad indeed. Their track record was a roller coaster but they made some of the most unique rpgs that are still ahead of 99% of games today in some aspects.
What aspects?
Believable AI and character with actual daily routines, great world building and the handcrafted feel to some of the games as opposed to the randomly generated feel of most games out there. This of course does not apply to all of their games. Like I said their track record is a roller coaster. But Gothic 1 and 2, Risen 1 and Elex 1 to some extend had these. Hell The Witcher 3 was clearly inspired by the first 2 Gothic games. @@italianspiderman5012
Gothic 2 is my favorite rpg! Im playing Risen 1 now after watching your videos and im really liking it aswell! Hope the studio pulls thru!
Gothic 2 and the mods for it is still my favorit. there is nothing else with the same feel. But with some flaws the other games are mostly great to realy enjoyable as well.
An i just finished their game elex 2 😢
2024 gonna have some sad moments. but i feel hopeful for great change for the better.Nothing good came without some tears.
While most of their recent games were unplayable garbage like Risen 2 & 3 or Elex 2, they still might be my all time favourite RPG dev.
First Elex and Risen were really good, while first two Gothic games are both in my top 10 RPG list. PB at its worst was still better than most AAA slop we get nowadays, like Starfield.
It's a sad day, but I can't say I'm shocked, that's just PB for you: 2 steps forward 3 steps backwards. Embracer bought them out hoping for a sweet deal with the Saudis, which didn't happen, so now they're axing every studio that can't release anything in the next 12 months to recuperate loses.
We Need elex 3 tho! 😮
hey,are you going to finish that gothic 1 switch playthrough?What about gothic 2 on switch?
Yup! Plan to do them both, along with all other PB games. I'll soon continue the g1.
@@click4gameplay YES!Thnk u!
@@click4gameplay It seems that g2 history of khorinis project got axed too. Sad news
Time to do an update on the status :(
Damn, Gothic was my childhood. It's kind of shocking to see PB go.
If Piranha Bytes finds a new publisher they unfortunately wouldnt be able to make a new Gothic because the trademark is owned by THQ Nordic. They'd either have to create a new IP or make ELEX 3 if THQ is selling PB along with the Elex trademark
nobody will be buying them. They have stagnated for 20 years now, their tech is as ancient as their game design, they have no expertise on engines other than their own and they are not in possession of an IPs of value. Quite frankly they deserve to be gone. They have tried to recapture the magic of Gothic 2 for a quarter of a century now and only hit diminishing returns instead of growing success. With better management and a bit more ambition they could have easily become germany's CDPR but they decided to remain a provincial small 30 people studio. Being overambitious is always a risk but being underambitious is setting yourself up for a slow and certain race to the bottom, which they now have hit. Good riddance.
well said. @@memento81
@@memento81 sad, but true
Say it ain't so!! This would be sad news, indeed 😔
Tbh after the reception elex 2 got im not surprised, really sad anyway
A great loss if it is true... I love their games, and they fill a very important niche in gaming.
This is terrible news, I really enjoyed their games. Good luck to them wherever they go
Hopefully PB will be okay.
Damn
Was just a matter of time
😳🥺
It would be a shame if true. Their games were never groundbreaking,but I always enjoyed them, especially the sci fi tinged Elex games.
Svaka čast
Legendary Studio with Legendary Games, such a bummer, especially in times where larger titles often fail to innovate.
Yeah, Embracer is in very hot water right now. I'm surprised they didn't drop them a long time ago. It super sucks if true, but sadly makes sense in the current situation. Shame about the IPs.
Gothic is still one of my fav RPG series out there.
I'd pay good money for a Gothic 3 direct sequel or a remake. Hopefully some of the devs will be able to get back right to Gothic- it carries no value for a scam group like Embracer.
Stay strong and hopeful, Gothic fans.
Maybe THQNordic will port Risen 2 over to PS4 since 1 and 3 are there.
Such terrible news, I ended up enjoying all PB games. Some more than others, but I was always looking forward to what PB put out next. Would have been nice to see them do a new Gothic game with some money behind them, but its not to be. RIP to one of my all time fav dev studios. From Gothic to Risen to Elex, I enjoyed them all.
O srećo, baš si vredan
This really bums me out. I've watched this studio improve their formula with each release. I really liked elex... I mean piranha bytes was a studio that did more with less and ive always appreciated them. I hope we can keep in touch with members of the team and look forward to seeing if they form up again in the future.
The peak of the formula was Gothic 2 Addon Night of the Raven...after that all went down to shit
They've lost it after Michael Hoge's departure in 2012.
100%
I just began playing Elex II and am enjoying it. I always thought PB would/should have made an MMORPG. This is very sad news. Subscribed to your channel.
didn't some employees make OnceLost Games studio a few years ago ?
Dear Lord, please let Elex 3 be made. As janky and sometimes shitty as it was, I loved the first 2 and want to see the series through to the finish.
I hope not! I love the world of Elex, I hope they finish the final game
How can they finish it if they are in a process of legal bankrupcy and shutting down???
Is 2 playable now? It was a mess at release so i just refunded
@@wulf2863 Elex 2 plays well when I last played it, which was 6 months after it released. Handles better than the first game.
Aw man this is sad news!
I’m done with the Internet for today after this news. 😭
NOOOOOOOOOO! This studio is so great. I never really played or liked RPGS until I found Elex. I have gotten into all of their RPGs since then. So sad 😞
After Elex 2 it was a matter of time. They dropped the ball big time.
I just came here looking to leave a cooment on how awsome your company is for providing us still with awsome games, instead of the total garbage we mostly get today.
If Piranha Bytes will close it will be another crime in the gaming industry. The Gaming industry will be much more poor than it currently is.
Thank you for giving me awesome childhood with the Gothic Series and memories and feelings that will stay with me forever, and thank you for coming over the odds of the garbage gaming industry and provide us with quality games like ELEX 1-2
I really wanted them to stop with the futuristic stuff and go back to at least a last medieval fantasy game. It's so sad their last years have been invested in the Elex series.
I loved piranha bytes so much. very sad to hear this...
Will Miss Gothic and Risen series.. ❤
Never heard of them
Recently played through Elex and I really enjoyed it. I was very excited for the continuation of their games. This sucks.
Tako i treba
I'm so glad that the gothic remake is not impacted but this is shitty news. I hope that they persist, or evolve and become better in the long run.