Funcom has closed The Outsiders, the team behind 2022 music shooter Metal: Hellsinger, after company-wide layoffs announced on Monday, the studio’s founder David Goldfarb said. Goldfarb wrote that the decision came as part of the broader Funcom cuts and noted Funcom acquired the studio three years ago. “I have not had much time to process the news, but all of us at The Outsiders and Funcom Stockholm have been affected by the layoffs at Funcom, and our 10-year-old studio will be closing,” he said.
He recalled the team’s earlier near-death experience when the cancelled project Darkborn nearly sank the studio, and how loyalty and persistence led to the creation of Metal: Hellsinger. “It will always be a high point for me personally, and I will be forever grateful we got to make it and for the wonderful team and partnerships that made it happen,” Goldfarb added.
The founder said the team had hoped to build “something even better” after Hellsinger, but that plans did not work out. He asked anyone who can help with funding, business leads, job placements for employees, or guidance to get in touch, writing, “we are not giving up, and we are going to try to continue on in some new form.”
A contemporaneous review praised Metal: Hellsinger as “an incredibly well-realised concept, packed to bursting with excellent music, unique weapons and a gameplay loop that’s instantly addictive,” and said many players would likely keep the game installed long after completion because chasing higher scores against friends is so engaging.
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