Polish studio People Can Fly has announced the suspension of development on two unannounced games — Gemini and Bifrost — and the reduction of part of the team. The reason was funding problems and the breakdown of negotiations with the publisher of one of the projects.
According to the studio's CEO Sebastian Wojciechowski, publisher Gemini did not provide updated contract terms and stopped communication, which effectively blocked further development. As a result, People Can Fly was also forced to suspend Bifrost - according to an internal analysis, the studio does not have enough resources to continue working on this game. The number of people who were laid off is currently unknown.
"We wish to express our deepest regret and sadness over how these events have unfolded and our sincere gratitude for everyone's contribution up to this point," Wojciechowski noted on LinkedIn.
People Can Fly is one of the most famous game studios in Poland, founded in 2002. It gained worldwide fame in 2011 thanks to the shooter Bulletstorm, which was distinguished by dynamic battles and a system of bonuses for spectacular kills of opponents. In 2017, an updated edition, Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition, was released. The studio also participated in the development of Gears of War: Judgment for Xbox 360.
In 2021, People Can Fly released the cooperative shooter Outriders, which, while not a hit of the year, gained its own fan base and the Worldslayer expansion in 2022.
Despite the cancellation of Gemini and Bifrost, the studio is not stopping other projects. People Can Fly is currently collaborating with The Coalition on a Gears of War prequel called E-Day, and is also working on a co-op shooter, Lost Rift. The latter will receive a demo as part of the Steam Next Fest. In addition, the studio has three more unannounced games in development, codenamed Bison, Echo, and Delta.