Boss Key Productions Is Officially Closing Down
Aidan O'Brien
Boss Key Productions, the four year old studio headed by former Epic Games standout Cliff Bleszinski, has announced that it will be closing down. In a post on Twitter, Bleszinski stated that their last ditch effort to keep the doors open just hadn’t paid off.
A statement: pic.twitter.com/LwJD54bCwL
— Cliff Bleszinski (@therealcliffyb) May 14, 2018
Originally focused on making Lawbreakers, a fast-moving, high octane arcade shooter, that game unfortunately failed to draw an audience. With the old school shooter market being well covered at this time by various indie games, and Epic’s own Quake Champions, the game just couldn’t find a solid footing in the market. Lawbreakers was shuttered, with Radical Heights becoming the hail mary pass that Boss Key decided to throw. Radical Heights sought to take a chunk of the ever growing Battle Royale market, with many pointing out that the bright neon aesthetic placed it in direct competition with the genre’s undisputed king, Fortnite.
The games industry would show its cruel irony here, as it had been Bleszinski himself who had introduced Fortnite to the world at E3 many years ago. Despite some support from some very large streamers, Radical Heights just couldn’t get the job done, and the studio will now be closing. Bleszinski has advised that he will be taking some time away from games development, but despite his occasional controversies, he is clearly passionate about the industry. He also has a strong pedigree, and it seems unlikely that he won’t be able to come back with a new project when he wants to.
For now, Radical Heights servers will stay online, although they will undoubtedly close down before too long. As always, we are sad to hear about a games studio closing, and we hope that all affected staff will have a smooth time finding new jobs.
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