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Woolfe: The Red Hood Diaries Studio Closes, Can’t Afford To Send Kickstarter Backer Rewards
Belgian studio GriN (not to be confused with the previously shuttered Swedish studio, GRIN), has announced it is closing. The studio raised $72,000 against a goal of $50,000 for 2.5D platformer Woolfe: The Red Hood Diaries.
The first chapter of the game was released to tepid response from critics. However, over 2,300 Kickstarter backers continue to await their incentives. These include the rest of the game, which will now not see release.
“The team is now dismantled and we have requested bankruptcy unable to pay outstanding bills,” writes co-founder Wim Wouters. “I guess our public silence the last few months already said a lot. It is not out of disrespect that our communication dropped to almost zero… it is out of shame. It is truly devastating to read the negative comments we received by some press and players. With Woolfe being the most passion driven thing we have ever created, it feels horrible to live with the feeling we let you down.”
Wouters continues to explain that the studio is prepared to ship a number of the backer rewards, but simply cannot afford to follow through. “The crazy thing is, that we have most of the rewards ready for postage,” he writes. “All the backer stickers and letters of enlistment just need a stamp. All the poster sets printed, signed and ready. The artbook is ready to be printed, the soundtrack is ready for distribution, the DVD case is ready for production. But we have literally no money whatsoever to pay for stamps, let alone print the artbooks and dvd-cases.”
The studio says it has assets for future chapters, and it is offering them and the IP for sale. Wouter cites an overabundance of ambition, changes in the scope without increasing the budget, and general inexperience for the team’s failure.
[Source: GriN via Scott Ellis on Twitter]
Our Take
It’s tragic when situations like this happen. Wouten seems to understand what went wrong and is contrite, but it’s clear that backers were left in the dark for months. Hopefully everyone involved in this will learn from the significant mistakes made with Woolfe.
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