Bandai Namco is closing Unknown 9: Awakening developer Reflector Entertainment.
In a press briefing, Bandai Namco stated that “after comprehensively considering future business plans, necessary additional investment, and the possibility of profitability and business continuation,” it has decided to dissolve and liquidate Reflector.
The publisher expects to “post an extraordinary loss of approximately €21 million” for Reflector in its Q3 financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027.
Bandai Namco acquired Montreal-based Reflector in 2020 for an undisclosed sum. It also acquired the studio’s subsidiary, Reflector Interactive Productions.
Reflector was founded in 2016 by Alexandre Amancio and Lune Rouge.
Reflector is known for the 2024 action-adventure title Unknown 9: Awakening. It was created as a transmedia franchise, including a podcast audio drama, novels, and a comic book series.
A month after launch, the studio announced it had cut 18% of its workforce.
The studio attributed the layoffs to a new development phase, stating that affected employees weren’t assigned to roles its active projects needed at the time.
Further redundancies occurred in 2025 after the decision “not to greenlight” an unannounced project. The studio also cancelled the Unknown 9 franchise due to low sales.
Reflector CEO Hervé Hoerdt acknowledged that Unknown 9 did not meet expectations “despite numerous timeline adjustments and investments.”
“This decision correlates directly with the failure of the studio’s ambitious and courageous first project, a new IP with a rich transmedia universe.”