2023 is easily one of the best years for video games with tons of titles easily surpassing expectations in a wide variety of genres. Sadly, at the same time, it’s also one of the most devastating years for game developers and smaller studios. Layoffs, closures, and cancellations are something we’ve been hearing about every other day this year, and it really begs the question of how sustainable game development is now, and what needs to be done to ensure more developers don’t lose their jobs. Sadly, Samurai Punk, the studio behind this year’s excellent first-person shooter, KILLBUG, is also shutting down.
Samurai Punk announced on Twitter that they’ve made the difficult decision to close the studio and go into support mode after releasing 9 games over the course of 10 years. KILLBUG was their latest endeavor, and seriously underlooked in my opinion. It was an accessible version of Devil Triggers and featured bugs, so many bugs.
Despite a “Very Positive” rating on Steam, it’s clear that KILLBUG didn’t reach enough people to be considered a success and allow the studio to make more games. They have also shared their former team’s details on their website for hiring purposes. We wish them our best and hope they continue to make weird, and engaging titles again.
