Australian developer League of Geeks, best known for excellent indies like Armello, Solium Infernum (PC), and the announced Jumplight Odyssey (sadly now indefinitely delayed), is entering a period of "hibernation", potentially forever. The studio went through a round of layoffs in December 2023, but it seems that wasn't enough to survive the industry's current brutal state.
Citing "rapidly rising operation costs, a worsening AUD/USD exchange rate, poor early access sales [of Jumplight Odyssey], and the unprecedented withdrawal of funding opportunities across the industry", studio co-founders Ty Care, Blake Mizzi, and Trent Kusters have tried to make things work in the six months since. Sadly: "The economic situation in games being what it is right now, we have made the decision to put League of Geeks into hibernation for the foreseeable future and take some extended time off. Most of our team have moved onto exciting new endeavours, and those who remain will take a well-deserved break over the next few months."
League of Geeks' games will remain online and playable, and the Armello boardgame is still coming. Tragically, it does mean Jumplight Odyssey will never see the light of day. The sci-fi management sim aimed to simulate the working of starships and had been announced for PS5. Concluding, the developer wrote: "Makin' video games is hard, excruciatingly hard these past few years. But the smart, lovely people we got to do it with, both inside League of Geeks and out, made this crazy business worth it every single day."