The instability of the video game industry is always surprising. It is the medium that generates the most money in the world, but somehow, it is unable to ensure survival within it. Something that is explained by absurd budgets and the tendency to not take risks. But within the terrible stories, something particularly strange happened this weekend. Even for the video game industry.
The Possibility Space studio has permanently closed its doors. This studio was created in 2021 by Jeff Strain, producing a AAA game with a Vonnegut-inspired man in the lead role, as he told in an interview with IGN. On April 12, Strain laid off the entire studio via email, announcing the closure of Possibility Space. All of this comes after the closure of another studio, Crop Circle Games, which was also part of the corporation owned by Strain, Prytania Media.
What is the reason for this sudden decision? According to Strain’s email, published by reporter Nicole Carpenter from Polygon, the fact that Vonnegut was going to appear in an article published by Kotaku. According to him, after receiving questions about Vonnegut, he had an emergency meeting with his publisher and in that same meeting, it was decided that he would no longer receive funding from them. This led to the cancellation of the project, but also to the closure of the two studios. Something that is, at the very least, strange.
According to employees at Possibility Space, all of this has come as a surprise. Former employee Russsel Petersen has stated on his Linkedin that the closure happened “this morning without announcement”, while Austin Walker, the company’s IP director, has made a brief comment saying “lol. lmao”.
This sudden closure due to an unpublished article and the employees’ reaction suggests that there is more to the story than what Strain is telling. We will likely learn more about it throughout the week, but the only thing that is certain for now is that this is another example of the state of the video game industry. How, even if the video game industry generates more money than the film and music industries combined, it doesn’t seem to be enough to bring stability to those who work in the industry. A problem that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.
