Co-developer Paladin Studios shuts down after almost 19 years, laying off 45 people

Dutch developer Paladin Studios has announced the end of its 19-year journey. The company has established itself through collaborations with renown partners such as Nintendo, ZeptoLab, and Apple.

Stormbound

In a post on its website, Paladin Studios said that “our quest came to an end, and we have closed the studio.”

The studio cited the lack of work to cover its burn-rate as the main reason behind this decision. “Going further with the current outlook would have been an irresponsible decision that would have likely caused insolvency,” the statement reads. We have therefore taken this step to ensure a proper winding down, where all employees are given proper severance and the studio remains debt-free.”

Prior to its closure, Paladin Studios employed 45 people, who will now be laid off. It urged other companies with open vacancies to reach out to it, as it can offer experts in various areas, including game design, programming, QA, and art.

“We want to thank the team, our partners, and our fellow industry colleagues for all the good times. It truly was a wild ride, and we wouldn’t want to have missed it for the world,” the studio concluded, also saying that its existing games will stay live.

Paladin Studios was founded in 2005 by Dylan Nagel (left at the end of 2010) and Derk de Geus. As a co-development studio, it has helped create many games for PC, console, and mobile — from initial concepts to launch and further updates.

Its portfolio includes titles such as Cut The Rope Remastered, Stormbound, Galaga Wars, and Amazing Katamari Damacy. Among its partnerns were Nintendo, Apple Arcade, Netflix, ZeptoLab, Bandai Namco, and more.