Image by means of Red Hook Studios/Behaviour Interactive.
Days after shuttering Midwinter Entertainment and canceling “Project T,” Behaviour Interactive has actually gotten Red Hook Games, makers of the Darkest Dungeon series.
While it’ll be dealing with the Dead by Daylight studio moving forward, Red Hook will remain in innovative and functional control of its tasks.
This news might come as perplexing to some designers, especially those previously of Midwinter, which Behaviour closed down recently. It’s unusual that a video game studio shuts down one workplace before obtaining another.
Behaviour Interactive co-founder Rémi Racine stated in a declaration that the acquisition becomes part of the business’s objective of ending up being “associated with scary,” and to “surround Dead by Daylight with a library of likewise remarkable scary video games.” Chief item and innovation officer Stephen Mulrooney called the Darkest Dungeon series a “natural compliment” to Dead by Daylight, applauding both series for providing “deep, ingenious gameplay and initial, eldritch worlds.”
Red Hook Studios co-founders Chris Bourassa and Tyler Sigman revealed optimism for what the relocation suggests for Red Hook’s future (regardless of the statement beginning the heels of a studio closure). “Behaviour’s assistance will assist us pursue our vision for Red Hook’s future, and focus completely on changing Darkest Dungeon into an outright juggernaut of the dark dream category,” Bourassa stated.
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Sigman stated that Behaviour has actually devoted to letting Red Hook continue establishing the Darkest Dungeon video games “in a way we understand best,” backed by the publisher’s understanding and resources.
Behaviour and Red Hook’s stories up until now
Red Hook launched Darkest Dungeon II on PC in 2015 (after it began Early Access in 2021). This previous July, it was ported to PlayStation 4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One and Series X|S.
A week after its complete release, Red Hook exposed the follow up has actually offered 500,000 copies, the majority of which came throughout its time in Early Access.
Behaviour has actually performed a number of rounds of layoffs this year. In January and June, the designer cut tasks throughout numerous departments, mainly at its Montreal studio. The business invested 2023 obtaining business like CodeGlue and SockMonkey.
Soon before Darkest Dungeon II’s 1.0 launch, Game Developer talked to Red Hook co-founders Tyler Sigman and Chris Bourassa about its advancement, which you can check out here.
Update 9/24: This story formerly improperly specified that Behaviour closed 2 studios in current history. It has actually been upgraded to properly recognize there was just a single closure.
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About the Authors
Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com
A Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has actually composed for various websites consisting of IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be discovered at io9 over on Gizmodo.