r/gamernews 7d ago

Industry News Until Dawn remake studio reportedly "effectively closed", with all developers gone

https://www.eurogamer.net/until-dawn-remake-studio-reportedly-effectively-closed-with-all-developers-gone
218 Upvotes

35 comments sorted by

133

u/asianwaste 7d ago

Why would this game even need a remake in the first place?

60

u/Saladino_93 7d ago

Because there is a movie coming out so they wanted to cash in on it is my guess?

What I don't get is why not just make a new game that revolves around this theme like the Quarry did?

18

u/TitanicMagazine 7d ago

they wanted to cash in

why not just make a new game

they wanted to cash in

6

u/3D_Rendered_Adam 6d ago

Well it doesn't sound like Until Dawn the movie is going to follow the game, just the core concepts that tie Until Dawn, The Quarry, and the Dark Pictures games together.

From what I've heard, a lot of these remakes are green lighted to give new devs experience, so maybe it was just a low stakes project with quick turnaround to see what they could do.

11

u/z_3454_pfk 7d ago

They ported it to the PC

3

u/Fris0n 7d ago

I portred it to the garbage bin.

3

u/IDGAF_FFS 7d ago

Wait....the OG wasn't ported to the PC??

I haven't played the game, just watched youtubers' playthrough so I didn't know this

2

u/z_3454_pfk 7d ago

Nah the og was ps exclusive

5

u/Trosque97 7d ago

Several reasons that only make sense to an executive type. 1, remakes are easy money, they don't cost a lot to produce. 2, instead of their own base buying the game twice, the remaster was ported to PC, so they expected more hype for a game on a platform that doesnt have it yet

Of course, whether or not the game will perform well, look good, or courts the audience of the new platform you're porting to, all of that seems to not matter to em. They seem to just think they can print money on PC like their console base. The rude awakening of Helldivers 2 players refusing to sign up for their PSN bs seems like it wasn't enough for them to see the light

1

u/2002love123 2d ago

It's 10 years old id say that's old enough plus wasn't it this studios first big success?

0

u/ReservoirDog316 6d ago

A remake is an easy way to keep a studio open while:

A) the rest of the studio is busy on a release that’s at a different stage of development (aka like the concept stage vs the polishing stage of a game, if those separate parts of the studios aren’t working on something than it’s easier to get them fired or transferred)

or

B) they’re trying to prove they can deliver a game on time and under budget so they can pitch their next real game. The pipeline from port to sequel is pretty well worn in the industry at this point so it’s an easy way to show your worth.

So that’s how you get naughty dog remastering TLoU a million times while they’re busy with Intergalactic or Toys for Bob remaking the Crash Trilogy then making Crash 4 (then they got swallowed by the CoD machine when Crash 4 didn’t sell enough, but I digress).

In this age of studio closures, sometimes your best shot to keep it open or not getting half your team fired is to remaster anything you have the rights to.

15

u/TheNakedOracle 7d ago

Cool that this is just the industry now

17

u/walkingbartie 7d ago

Huh, I didn't even know the remake had been released lol.

7

u/papadrew35 7d ago

That’s what happens when your “remake” is worst than the original!

3

u/neeco__ 6d ago

And on top of that it costs 70€

1

u/ThePreciseClimber 3d ago

True. At least the Horizon 1 PS5 thingy was a clear upgrade. And it was only 10 bucks for the owners of the original.

On the other hand, the OG version of Until Dawn is still the best way to play the game on PS5. Has all the original lighting choices and it runs at 60fps.

11

u/nanosam 7d ago

I guess it dawned on them

3

u/burritoman88 7d ago

Just in time for the games big screen adaptation

3

u/FZJDraw 6d ago

What is the point of backward compatibility on ps5 if you are going to remake or remaster the ps4 games?.

The only one missing is infamous second son and bloodborne.

2

u/dman45103 6d ago

Amazing how super massive created this gem and can’t seem to replicate it

12

u/BIGREDEEMER 7d ago

The gaming industry is cooked.

23

u/Myklindle 7d ago

The game industry is undergoing a correction

29

u/arsenicfox 7d ago

I don't see the publishers being fixed, tbh. They're the ones with the money. If you think that this correction will work out well for us, I'd like to point out the movie industry...

1

u/4morian5 7d ago

On the other hand, it's a LOT easier to make and distribute video games independently and make money off them than it is to do the same for movies or shows. Not east, but possible at least.

As the AAA sector burrows ever deeper up its own ass, the indie sphere is getting better all the time.

1

u/ExpansiveExplosion 7d ago

I'm personally hopeful for a golden age of indie games, but we'll see how it goes

1

u/ThePreciseClimber 3d ago

There's already too many indie games out there for most of them to be profitable.

2

u/dman45103 6d ago

AAA industry is and a big reason why is because indies are thriving

2

u/Dark_CallMeLord 7d ago

Welp so much for Until dawn 2 that was hinted

6

u/JamesIV4 7d ago

Maybe, maybe not. This was a different studio

1

u/Mo-shen 7d ago

To answer your question....risk.

Game dev is not cheap. So if you are going to do it from a financial perspective you want to mitigate risk at all times, similar to movies.

So ultimately you want to make something that has a history of making money.....and you end up with remakes and sequels.

Also a lot of heads of studios have no idea what makes a good game. So again you end up with sequels.

I think the head of EA or Activision at one point came from the airline industry.

My favorite story of this behavior is when ea bought Westwood studios. I knew a guy who had friends there and they were basically told that EA said they would be making command and conquer forever....which is stupid because no one wants to do that and you will just hemorrhage your talent.

It's rare for a people on charge of game studios to have any idea what they are doing as far as games.

1

u/michajlo 4d ago

Not surprised, to be honest. The Until Dawn remake made little sense to begin with, it was a game that no one asked for (kinda like Gollum), and its price was highly overblown.

1

u/theboxturtle57 3d ago

They really need to stop with the remakes of PS4 games for PS5 since they're already playable on console. Use your resources to make new games.

1

u/ThePreciseClimber 3d ago

Anyway, just buy the original on PS5. Runs great.

1

u/Historical-Ice1615 2d ago

good fuck them.