Midwinter shut down following Project T cancellation
UPDATE: Behaviour Interactive confirms closure in formal statement
Update, September 18, 2024: Behaviour Interactive says the closure of its Midwinter studio "in no way reflects the talent of the team,", insisting it only decided to close the studio after a "diligent risk assessment."
"Yesterday, Behaviour Interactive announced the cancellation of Project T and the closure of its Midwinter studio in Seattle," Behaviour said in a statement to GamesIndustry.biz.
"This decision was taken following a diligent risk assessment from a commercial and a product perspective, which yielded unsatisfactory results. This sad news in no way reflects the talent of the team, who put a lot of energy into Project T.
"All the employees were offered to relocate to our Canadian studios, as we strongly believe in their expertise. Should they decide not to accept, they will be presented with a generous severance package. We want to thank them for all their hard work on Project T and wish them the very best for the future."
Original story: Behaviour Interactive has announced the cancellation of Dead by Daylight spinoff Project T, with its developer Midwinter Entertainment allegedly also being shut down as a result.
News of Project T's cancellation came through Behaviour yesterday, with a social media post explaining that following a "thorough internal risk assessment" and a "deep analysis" following a playtest, the outcome was "unsatisfactory overall results." As a result, the project is being cancelled, the team said.
Following this announcement and as reported by Game Developer, several Midwinter employees have shared on social media that they've been laid off due to the studio closure.
An animation and art lead shared on Linkedin that their time at the studio had come to "an abrupt end due to the studio closure." Similarly, a senior sound designer said on the platform that the studio "shut down." A lead game designer also shared that the "studio abruptly closed today."
GamesIndustry.biz has reached out to Behaviour for confirmation.
Midwinter was acquired by Behaviour in May 2022, from cloud tech firm Improbable.