Defiant Development, makers of Hand of Fate, have announced that the studio is closing after nine years of business. In a statement published on social media channels, the studio says that they have “not been able to change quickly enough” in the fast moving games market.
The statement is moving and heartfelt, showing the reality of the ever shifting games development landscape. After announcing their closure they first address their team, saying they are all champions in their fields, and asking other studios to hire them. Putting their concern for the team’s future at the top of the list really shows what they stood for as a company.
Defiant Development was founded back in 2010 and their goal was “to hire great people, to create great games and to do that in an ethical manner with respect for our team and our audience.” Over the last 9 years they achieved this goal.
The team created games that “no one else would,” which they always knew was a risky venture. They also advocated hugely for games development in Australia, where they are based. They wanted to show that games development in the country could be “world class.”
Their games include Ski Safari, a well-received family friendly mobile game, and Heroes Call, a dungeon crawler for mobiles. They were also responsible for Hand of Fate and Hand of Fate 2, an action role-playing series with deck-building elements. Both games scored around 80 on Metacritic.
The statement also links to a video, which shows a glimpse of what the team was currently working on, a game which appears to be based on table top gaming titled A World In My Attic.
This intriguing title takes the idea of a world encased in a board game and explores it. The hexagonal board, reminiscent of Catan, creates a living world we will sadly never get to explore and play with.
The studio will remain in caretaker mode to support its current games but all future development has ceased.
The studio’s closure is a sad time and their parting is emotional, thankful, and sad. Their contribution to the Australian games industry will not be forgotten. We wish all the best to anyone affected by the closure.
