Radical Heights & Boss Key Shutdown Caught Even Their Own Team By Surprise
By Zac Cameron ·
Based on the recent Twitter threads, it would seem that even some of the developers were caught off guard by the announcement.
The revelation earlier today that Lawbreakers and Radical Heights studio Boss Key Productions would be closing down has apparently caught more than just the fans off guard. Lead Producer Ron Lajoie’s Twitter feed gives a bleak “insiders peek” into what happens when a studio goes under, with Twitter conversations being literally interrupted by the news of Boss Key’s demise.
Even better, this is pretty norm for games industry.
— Ron LaJoie (@ron_lajoie) May 14, 2018
The announcement posted by Cliff Bleszinski gives a bit of insight into the closure of the studio, as Bleszinski explains “LawBreakers was a great game that unfortunately failed to gain traction, and, in a last ditch attempt we scrambled to do our take on the huge battle royale genre with Radical Heights which was well received, however, it was too little too late.”
The news of the studio’s closure has brought forth an outpouring of support, with other major developers expressing their solidarity with the former employees.
Very sorry to hear, Cliff, truly. To those affected at #BossKey, check out our current openings (200+) across all teams/disciplines at https://t.co/0QC3fhvTs7 and connect with our recruiting team. Hang in there folks, we're thinking of you! #gamedev #gameart #gamedevjobs #hiring https://t.co/WpRgtsHGP6
— Blizzard Careers (@BlizzardCareers) May 14, 2018
Fans of both LawBreakers and Radical Heights will now have to come to terms with the eventual closure of the games servers. While the games were indeed fun to play, it’s a sad truth that nothing lasts forever in the gaming industry.
The news does bring to question exactly how far in advance did the studio know they would be closing down, with Cliff Bleszinski making claims that Fortnite developer Epic Games was attempting to poach their staff just weeks ago. Whether they knew back then that the game was not succeeding as planned remains unclear, however some staff responded to the claims, replying that the choice to leave Boss Key Productions to work with Epic Games was not a case of poaching after all.
Hopefully the rest of the staff that stayed with Boss Key Productions are able to land on their feet as soon as possible.