The Studio Behind This Acclaimed PS5 Metroidvania Is Closing Its Doors

Douze Dizièmes, the French game studio behind MIO: Memories in Orbit, is closing down.

The team was a subsidiary of Focus Entertainment, which published the aforementioned Metroidvania action game in January of this year.

Now, just months after the game's release, Douze Dizièmes bought back its own shares to become fully independent, and subsequently is closing its doors.

The news was initially reported by Le Figaro (paywalled) as part of a wider report on the struggling French video game industry.

Users on ResetEra have found other mentions of this studio's closure; French YouTuber Gautoz has also confirmed this is the case on Discord.

"Recently dropped by Focus, the co-founders had bought back all the shares, but it appears this was mainly so they could lay themselves off on their own terms rather than those of the publisher," he wrote.

PulluP Entertainment, which owns Focus Entertainment, also mentions Douze Dizièmes splitting from its publisher in a financial report.

"PULLUP Entertainment is announcing that it has sold its entire stake in Douze Dixièmes to the studio's founding partners.

This decision was taken by mutual agreement to enable each entity to pursue its strategic objectives independently. The games Shady Part of Me and MIO: Memories in Orbit, developed by Douze Dixièmes, will continue to be published by Focus Entertainment Publishing, a PULLUP Entertainment Group subsidiary."

As mentioned, MIO: Memories in Orbit launched earlier this year to some strong reviews. Whether the game made any headway in terms of sales is another matter.

I'm not aware of any public sales figures for the game, but clearly it didn't do well enough to keep the studio going.

It's more unfortunate news in an industry that's going through a major period of studio closures and layoffs, from small studios like this to the largest publishers in the space.