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Bandai Namco subsidiary and Unknown 9: Awakening developer Reflector Entertainment has canceled an in-development project and laid off a number of staff following what it calls the "failure" of its first game.

In a LinkedIn post, Reflector CEO Herve Hoerdt says he's "made the decision not to greenlight further work" on a project that was in the "conceptualization phase", thus "terminating this development line". In layman's terms, that effectively seems to mean he's canceled an ongoing development project.

Hoerdt puts the cancellation down to the "failure" of Reflector's "ambitious and courageous first project", which he describes as a "new IP with a rich transmedia universe". He is, of course, referring to Unknown 9: Awakening, which is Reflector's first (and, to date, only) game.

The CEO goes on to admit that Unknown 9: Awakening "didn't come near the company expectations" with regards to sales performance, and that the world of the game doesn't "warrant any further exploration" as a result.

He says that the canceled project continuing "would not have been sustainable" for Reflector, but that it will result in "redundancies", although he doesn't state how many.

Going forward, Hoerdt says Reflector will work on a single project at a time, an approach that's also been espoused by the likes of Rime developer Tequila Works (although that company's insolvency puts the future of said project into question in that case).

Reflector is currently working on a game "based on an existing Bandai Namco IP", and Hoerdt says development on that project is "shaping up very well", although naturally, he doesn't say what it might be.

Unknown 9: Awakening Developer Hit by Layoffs After Game's "Failure" | TechRaptor

Unknown 9: Awakening developer Reflector Entertainment has laid off staff members and canceled a project following its game's "failure".

techraptor.net

 

[SEGAvangelist]

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Yeah this thing was a mega bomb. And what makes it even worse is it was a free included game with AMD processors. Half the reviews on Steam are from people who got it for free (and a huge # are negative)

Sweet Baby claims another victim.

 

[RagnarokIV]

[Hahahaha]
Ragnarok laughs in fake gamer tourist language.

 

[Kacho]

If only there was a consulting firm that could have told them that this was a turrible idea

 

[Firestartah]

who

 

[Lucifers Beard]

Played this at EGX a few months back and I want my 2 minutes back. Writing and characters aside, the game is fucking garbage.

 

[Deft Beck]

Unknown Game: Reckoning

 

[Saber]

That face sure sells alot.
Can't wait for the "why gamers want games to fail" or "why gamers hates games" posts. Because thats totally the gamers fault.

 

[Ridicululzz]

What were they expecting exactly sales-wise?

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

What were they expecting exactly sales-wise?

lol well they had a whole trans-media universe planned with comic books, TV shows, etc. and I read rumors that Bandai Namco spent an insane amount of money buying this studio and funding the game. It seems like they honestly thought this was hot shit.


I’ll see if I can find any sources but the rumor was that despite looking like some mid-tier game it had a AAA budget behind it.

 

[Ridicululzz]

lol well they had a whole trans-media universe planned with comic books, TV shows, etc. and I read rumors that Bandai Namco spent an insane amount of money buying this studio and funding the game. It seems like they honestly thought this was hot shit.

That's crazy. I'm not sure how they engaged interest in the franchise to go all-in like that. I've never even heard of it before this game

 

[N30RYU]

If you scan an actress and the result is an ugly version of said actress it is time to just shut down your business and start doing something else.

 

[winjer]

I'm more surprised Namco didn't shut down this studio yet.
Nice way to burn more money.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

If only there was a consulting firm that could have told them that this was a turrible idea

Hrrrm. They should have gone with Sour Adult Corp instead.

Wait, why is no 'Consultancy' firm for the good stuff in games?

We could make a killing here

 

[ResilientBanana]

It didn't look engaging.

 

[TommyCronin6969]

If only there was a consulting firm that could have told them that this was a turrible idea

Nevermind I thought this wasn't known.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

new IP with a rich transmedia universe

 

[Last Hearth]

That's crazy. I'm not sure how they engaged interest in the franchise to go all-in like that. I've never even heard of it before this game

I think some Japanese companies got hoodwinked by Western grifters who probably produced some fake study that shows how much young people love the progressive crap in their games and how it increases sales. Like that fake study that was going around in Hollywood claiming diversity increases revenue of movies.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Unknown 9 is the very definition of "came and went".

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

I think some Japanese companies got hoodwinked by Western grifters who probably produced some fake study that shows how much young people love the progressive crap in their games and how it increases sales. Like that fake study that was going around in Hollywood claiming diversity increases revenue of movies.

It was the perfect storm. DEI grift was at its peak where they had the entire industry convinced that failure to fully embrace DEI would be an existential threat, plus the COVID gaming bubble where big publishers were panic buying studios at ridiculous prices and hiring every dev they could get their hands on.

It’s sickening thinking how much wealth was destroyed and how much talent was squandered over the last several years.

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

I'm more surprised Namco didn't shut down this studio yet.
Nice way to burn more money.

They laid off 18% of their employees in November. Maybe Bamco will finish off the remaining 82% before long.

 

[kiphalfton]

Only reason it gets any attention here is it's woke. Besides that, it's shovelware nobody would have otherwise heard about anyways.

 

[NeverYouMind]

I want to demo it to satisfy my curiosity but I am certainly not sold on it at any price point.

 

[Judge Magister]

A not so rare incel victory.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

 

[Gonzito]

Deserved

 

[Vlodril]

I think a lot of companies put the horse before the cart lately. Release something and see if it resonates first before starting thinking about cross media stuff. That thing had books and a bunch of other things.

 

[Fbh]

If you want a shot at making your money back as AA game these days you definitely need a stronger hook than "we got a diverse, strong female character"

 

[Cyberpunkd]

If you want a shot at making your money back as AA game these days you definitely need a stronger hook than "we got a diverse, strong female character"

I don’t think so, but I’m sure the writing was absolute thrash, as it always is.

 

[{insert code here}]

Y'all a bunch of God damned tourists FFS. Cringe.

 

[TerribleAtThisGame]

Real Gamerz buy anything and everything without question and quality standards. You should be ashamed of yourselves you fucking tourists. Once again fake gamers killed a studio brimming with gameplay innovations and...

 

[Complistic]

I always forget the name of this game by the time I get to the end of it's threads. Fuck.

 

[Buggy Loop]

This was bundled with AMD for months no?

Not even for free peoples tried it it seems

 

[GHG]

*Alanah Pearce doesn't like this*

 

[Tajaz2426]

I’ve said it multiple times, but no man or woman goes and pays 70 dollars asking for the ugliest prostitute at the ranch.

 

[Calico345]

 

[ResilientBanana]

hold the line.

 

[laynelane]

Hoerdt puts the cancellation down to the "failure" of Reflector's "ambitious and courageous first project", which he describes as a "new IP with a rich transmedia universe". He is, of course, referring to Unknown 9: Awakening, which is Reflector's first (and, to date, only) game.

They really thought they had this sure-fire thing that was going to span games, comics, books, movies, tv series, etc. It makes it apparent how much some devs insulate themselves from feed back and even reality itself.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

I still don't know what Bandai Namco saw in Unknown 9 and even acquired the whole studio when Unknowns 1 to 8 were never big sellers

The franchise is probably truly dead now though, I'm amazed it made it to 9 entries

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

They really thought they had this sure-fire thing that was going to span games, comics, books, movies, tv series, etc. It makes it apparent how much some devs insulate themselves from feed back and even reality itself.

In this case, it's Bandai Namco to believe their lies. IMO this is clearly a scam.

 

[Fake]

A shit game, by a shit director, by shit devs.

Bye.

 

[Moriarty1889]

Good news considering the garbage that was Unknown 9.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

The studio is still alive? Amazing. Bandai Namco has a good heart to keep them on the payroll.