Studios remnants working on sequel to their “most requested title”

Canadian developer Silicon Knights, the haunt of infamous designer Dennis Dyack, has had to let go of 43 of their employees, leaving the studio at only half strength. The studio revealed yesterday their publishing deal for their as of yet unannounced project fell through in late stage contractual negotiations. Silicon Knights spokesperson was cryptic about both the game and the publisher, who we know was not their previous publisher Activision. Insofar as their ongoing project, they would only reveal that its the sequel that fans have been clamouring for.

Have people been clamouring for an X-Men: Destiny sequel? Probably not, as its only just recently been released and I doubt Silicon Knights would have an easy time holding onto that license. Too Human​? Infamous for its mediocrity? Probably not. What about a certain cult classic survival horror game for the Gamecube? It seems pretty damn possible they were working on a followup to the mind bending Eternal Darkness: Santitys Requiem, which pulled some pretty clever metascares on you, such as pretending to have deleted your save. Although it could also be the next Legacy of Kain game, although again it doesnt seem terribly likely that Knights could managed to scrape the rights for that out of Square Enixs uncaring hands.

Its a particular shame given how good things were looking at the studio, given their fantastic relationship with the local government there in Ontario. The Ontario Media Development Corporation has given Silicon Knights over $15 million in grants over the last three years alone, which Dyack planned to use to expand the studio to around 170 employees, rather than the 50 or so the studio has been left with.

The company announced that it will continue to work on its current project and continue shopping around for a publisher. We at Vooks wish anyone laid off all the best and recommend they try one of Canadas many other successful studios. Theres quite a few.

Source: Kotaku