Kwalee Labs, the developer behind the well-received PC and PS5 shooter Luna Abyss, has been shuttered only a month after the game launched. The firm was originally founded as Bonsai Collective, which Kwalee purchased out of administration in September, according to a LinkedIn post by former creative director Benni Hill.
The team was then rebranded as Kwalee Labs, and sci-fi shooter Luna Abyss was launched to good reviews on May 21st. CEO Hollie Emery announced on LinkedIn yesterday that the entire nine-person team had been made redundant, saying the decision “was completely outside of our control.”
Luna Abyss sold 12,000 units on Steam, according to GameDiscoverCo data, and also released on Xbox and Playstation. Emery said the tem was “enamoured by the love and support it received both by our industry and critically by journalists and media.”
“Whilst we faced many challenges along the way, it has been the highlight of our careers – and we are incredibly proud that it has finally seen the light of day,” they wrote. “The entire team are available for work as of today.”
Bonsai Collective was founded in 2019 as a fully remote studio, headed by Emery who’d previously worked at Team17. The firm received a $3.5 million investment in 2021 from publisher Super.com – which subsequently rebranded as Super Good Games in 2022 – as part of a publishing deal.
UK publisher Kwalee, launched by Codemasters founder David Darling, has published seven titles this year, the highest-selling of which was deckbuilding title Rune Dice. GamesIndustry.biz has contacted Kwalee for comment.
