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Perfect World Closes Down Gigantic Developer Motiga
Motiga, the developer behind the free-to-play MOBA-esque shooter Gigantic, closed its doors today. According to a statement given to Destructoid by Motiga CEO Chris Chung, the decision was made by the studio's publisher, Perfect World, for purely budgetary reasons. "Yes, [the closure] was the corporate decision. It was a budgetary decision at the highest level," said Chung.
The road to Gigantic's release earlier this year was difficult for Motiga. Originally set to release exclusively on Windows 10 with Microsoft as its publisher, Gigantic struggled with release date pushes, platform shifts, and significant team layoffs last year. Perfect World joined the project mid-development, after Microsoft dropped out as a publisher, but the company's relationship with Motiga was more than that. Perfect World quietly acquired Motiga and made its involvement with Motiga more of a "partnership."
Unfortunately, even after Gigantic's release in June 2017, the game hasn't been the financial success that Motiga needed or Perfect World wanted. Although a small team will continue to work on Gigantic for an indeterminate amount of time, the rest of Motiga has been let go due to what Chung describes as a "decision to cut parts of the company that were not profitable." Chung went on to say in his statement that despite all the setbacks, the Motiga team remained close even until the announcement that the developer would shut down. "As someone that created Motiga from scratch, it's a sad day for me but I am proud of the team we built and the culture we established at Motiga," Chung said. "I was hugged by everyone today and you don't see that kind of reaction in most companies through an ordeal like this."
It should be noted that Motiga is not the only team affected by Perfect World's decision, according to Chung. Other Perfect World properties could meet a similar fate in the near future.
"Today was a tough day for all of us who have been part of this extraordinary journey," Chung said in a second statement. "We wish the best for everyone that were impacted and we will do everything we can to help them find a new home."
[Source: Destructoid]
Our Take:
News of layoffs, studio closures, and shuttered developers is never good, but Motiga's struggles throughout the development process for Gigantic make this news extra heartbreaking. I can understand Perfect World needs to hit a bottom line, but this is a project people poured their heart and soul into. We wish good luck and best wishes to all the folks at Motiga, and we hope that all the talented team members can find good work elsewhere in the industry.
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