“It is with sadness that we announce Defiant is ceasing development.”
In a heartfelt post, Defiant Development founder Morgan Jafitt announced the studio is closing and production on all future titles will cease.
“It is with sadness that we announce Defiant is ceasing development,” Jafitt wrote in a statement on Facebook. “When we started this studio, we did so with a clear goal in mind. To hire great people, to create great games and to do that in an ethical manner with respect for our team and our audience.
“The games market has changed in ways both big and small in the nine years we’ve been in business. We have not been able to change quickly enough to continue with them.
“Studios rise and studios fall, but people are always more important – to the people of Defiant, staff, friends, families, and partners, thank you. May your futures shine bright, and may you change the world for the better.”
Sad to announce that Defiant are ceasing development of new titles. pic.twitter.com/OgMd61aLkp
— Defiant Development (@DefiantDev) July 24, 2019
Defiant started in 2010 to fulfil the need for game studios in Australia “to demonstrate that it was possible to have substantial, Australian owned, IP generating homes for talent”. And Defiant achieved that goal – Hand of Fate 2 was a favourite at Eurogamer.
The majority of the Defiant team will now have to look for new jobs, as the studio enters a stripped down “caretaker mode” in order to continue offering support for existing games.
Jafitt signed off his statement by giving us a glimpse of a beautiful game that may never get to be: A World in My Attic.
