Rumor: Studio Working on DayZ was Shut Down [Updated]
Rumor has it that the Bratislava studio, one of the two responsible for developing DayZ, has been closed down. If the reports turn out to be true, the game may no longer receive new content.
[Update 2] Bohemia Interactive has spoken on closing the studio in Bratislava. The developer admits that the company's branch has been dissolved, but at the same time assures that DayZ's development will continue. Work on the title is to follow the roadmap published in January.
[Update]A message on the game's official Twitter account denies that the game would lose dev support. It does not refer to information about closing the studio responsible for the title, though. In the next comment we can read that the official information from the dev - Bohemia Interactive - is to be expected.
IN A NUTSHELL
- Rumor has it that one of the two studies working on DayZ has closed.
- So far, there is was official statement from Bohemia Interactive on the issue, but Scott Bowen's comment partly confirms these reports.
DayZ from Bohemia Interactive has made a splash in the gaming world. On the one hand, the game is praised by the players for the idea and atmosphere, on the other hand, it is accused of numerous errors and shortcomings. The best testimony to this are the ratings on Steam - 64% out of almost 193 thousand reviews are positive. However, the latest rumors do not inspire optimism about the future of the game. Reddit user snowbally informed that the studio in Bratislava, one of the two that were involved in DayZ's development, has been closed. The source also informs that at the moment only 10 people from the Prague branch are working on the title.
The information reportedly comes from a friend of the user who was employed at Bohemia Interactive. To confirm his words, the source provides a link to Glassdoor, where we can find 10 reviews of the company issued in 2020, all from former employees - most of them from February and the latest one from April 21.
Snowbally adds that the devs have gone under the wings of Nine Rocks Games, a newly created THQ studio, founded by David Durack - also a former DayZ developer.
The thread on Reddit was closed due to lack of evidence, but the information was quick to make rounds around the web.
Fans of the game asked a direct question about the authenticity of rumors on Bohemia Interactive's Facebook and Twitter account, so far the company has not referred to them. However, I managed to find a screen shared by Reddit user Snarker, which presents a comment by Scott Bowen, a marketing specialist working at the company. Unfortunately I didn't get to the original message - it may have been removed.
Source: Reddit user Snarker
The comment shows that the company has indeed closed down the studio, but none of the employees were among the developers actively working on the game.
Despite the rumors, I wouldn't give up on DayZ yet. The end of last year brought us a big expansion, and the game itself not only achieved very good sales results, but also regained some trust of the players. Even despite the new project that Bohemia Interactive is currently working on, it seems unlikely that the devs would decide to kill the title. However, we will have to wait with the final verdict until the company makes a statement.
