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Housemarque Leaving Arcade Shooters Behind
Finnish developers Housemarque (Super Stardust, Resogun, Matterfall) have announced that they are moving away from the genre that they've become well known for – arcade shooters – and moving into new genre areas.
The reasoning, as explained in a blog by Ilari Kuittinen, CEO, is pure and simple economics:
Lackluster sales of Nex Machina [shown] have led us to the thinking that it is time to bring our longstanding commitment to the arcade genre to an end. While this genre will always hold a special place in our hearts, the industry is moving more toward multiplayer experiences with strong, robust communities, and it's time for Housemarque to move forward with the industry.
Kuittinen says the studio is currently working on multiple projects that are "totally different than what you might expect from us," but nothing concrete was announced. To learn more about Nex Machina's development and collaboration with arcade design legend Eugene Jarvis, watch our interview from The Game Informer Show below.
[Source: Housemarque]
Our Take
While Housemarque declaration and the realities of the situation are unfortunate, on the bright side, the studio is still committed to making games. I'm excited to not only see what they do next, but how their previous experience possibly colors their efforts.
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