Major Indie Studio ‘Zachtronics’ will be shutting their doors by the end of the year, after years of working in game development.
The studio will be releasing two more games, including one appropriately titled Last Call BBS, before ceasing operations. Founder Zach Barth told Kotaku that following these two releases his team will begin “wrapping things up.”
“After that, the team will disband. We all have different ideas, interests, tolerances for risk, and so on, so we’re still figuring out what we want to do next.”
The studio was founded in 2000, just over two decades ago, and has seen massive popularity, especially following the release of one of 2011’s classic titles, SpaceChem, Eliza, and TIS-100.
I’m thankful that we’ve been able to occupy it and survive in it, but it also kept us locked into doing something we didn’t feel like doing forever.”
Zach Barth,
Founder, Zachtronics
This isn’t their first time ending operations however. They closed down their studio back in 2015, where Barth would go to get a job at Valve for just shy of 12 months. Apparently, that time frame gave the team a good break to re-engage with the gaming industry.
However, this time it’s different.
“I’m not saying the same thing is going to happen here, because we really are shutting down Zachtronics,” Barth told Kotaku. “But when you make these decisions for yourself deliberately, instead of letting circumstances dictate them, it’s easier to get the results you want in the long run.”
The most bizarre part about the studio’s closure isn’t the fact that it’s closing down, it’s the fact that there’s no specific reason to. The company didn’t go bankrupt, they don’t have any legal issues; they simply got bored.
It’s currently unclear what Barth and the rest of his team will be pursuing following their leaving the studio, however it’s been hinted at that most of his staff are going to actively search for stable jobs while Barth is “particularly interested in freelancing and weird side projects.”
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