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Piranha Bytes

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Not to be confused with Piranha Games.

Piranha Bytes GmbH
Formerly
  • Piranha Bytes Software GmbH (1997–2002)
  • Pluto 13 GmbH (2002–2019)
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
Founded1997; 27 years ago (1997) in Bochum, Germany
Founders
  • Alex Brüggemann
  • Michael Hoge
  • Stefan Nyul
  • Tom Putzki
DefunctJune 30, 2024 (June 30, 2024)
Headquarters
Essen
,
Germany
Key people
Michael Rüve (managing director)
Products
Number of employees
33 (2021)
Parent
Websitepiranha-bytes.com

Piranha Bytes GmbH was a German video game developer based in Essen. It was best known for their Gothic and Risen series of role-playing video games.

Piranha Bytes was founded in Bochum in 1997 and bought by Phenomedia in 1999. When Phenomedia filed for insolvency in May 2002, the Piranha Bytes management bought out the studio. THQ Nordic, as part of Embracer Group, then acquired the company in May 2019.

Piranha Bytes was reported to be in the process of closing since December 2023. It was closed sometime in June 2024 due to Embracer Group failing to find a new owner for the company, according to a former employee; the company declined to make a public statement on their closure.[1]

History

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Alex Brüggemann, Mike Hoge [de], Stefan Nyul and Tom Putzki [de] founded Piranha Bytes in Bochum in 1997, incorporating it as Piranha Bytes Software GmbH.[2][3] In 1999, the company became a wholly owned subsidiary of the German publisher Phenomedia.[3] Piranha Bytes' first game, Gothic, was released in 2001.[2] Shortly thereafter, Brüggemann left the company to work on smaller game projects, eventually designing The Settlers: Rise of an Empire. He died on 19 January 2013 after suffering from cancer for three years.[4][5]

Following a financial scandal at Phenomedia, the parent company filed for insolvency in May 2002.[3] Piranha Bytes' management performed a management buyout, concluded in September that year, and transferred the studio's trademarks and intellectual property, including the rights to the Gothic series, to Pluto 13 GmbH, a new entity that assumed "Piranha Bytes" as its trading name.[2][3] Only one of the four original founders remained with the new incorporation.[2] In March 2004, Piranha Bytes was among the founders of GAME Bundesverband der deutschen Games-Branche [de].[6]

On 22 May 2019, THQ Nordic, as part of Embracer Group, announced that it had acquired the studio to undisclosed terms.[7] At the time, Piranha Bytes had 31 employees in its Essen offices.[7] Through the acquisition, the company was reincorporated as Piranha Bytes GmbH.[2] By April 2021, with 33 employees, Piranha Bytes was among the forty largest video game companies in Germany.[8]

In 2023, Embracer Group began implementing cost reduction measures to reduce accrued debt, including significant layoffs and studio closures. THQ Nordic reportedly began seeking a buyer for Piranha Bytes late that year. As this was unsuccessful, it began laying off all staff in December, a process ongoing as of 17 January 2024, and reduced the company to a shell. The state of the studio's third ELEX game (codenamed WIKI6) is unknown. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, which financed the development with €3.2 million, briefly removed WIKI6 from its website before reinstating it as Currywurst, stating that the financing claim had not been withdrawn, unlike that of the project cancelled at the downsized sister studio Fishlabs.[9][10]

Closure

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On January 22, 2024, the studio released a message on its official website, which expressed optimism about finding a partner for future projects and promised to keep the community updated.[11] In July 2024, it was confirmed that the studio had shut down in late June after failing to find such a partner.[12][13]

Some of the former employees founded the independent studio Pithead, which is being led by husband and wife Björn and Jenny Pankratz, who have been part of Piranha Bytes more or less since its inception. They have not yet announced what project this small team will work on.[14]

Games

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Year Title Platform(s)
2001 Gothic Nintendo Switch, Windows
2002 Gothic II Nintendo Switch, Windows
2003 Gothic II: Night of the Raven Nintendo Switch, Windows
2006 Gothic 3 Windows
2009 Risen Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One
2012 Risen 2: Dark Waters PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360
2014 Risen 3: Titan Lords PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360
2017 ELEX PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One
2022 ELEX II macOS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

References

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  1. ^ Ivan, Tom (8 July 2024). "Embracer's Gothic and Elex studio Piranha Bytes has reportedly closed down". VGC. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Company". Piranha Bytes. Archived from the original on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d Lück, Patrick (29 April 2012). "Piranha Bytes – Die Fantasten aus dem Pott" [Piranha Bytes – The Fantasts from the Pott]. GameStar (in German). Archived from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Gothic-Miterfinder Alex Brüggemann verstorben" [Gothic co-creator Alex Brüggemann has died]. Making Games (in German). 21 January 2013. Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  5. ^ Marczinczik, Ralf (20 January 2013). "Tagebuch / Blog" [Diary / Blog]. Comixfactory (in German). Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  6. ^ Klinge, Heiko (8 March 2004). "G.A.M.E. – Bundesverband der Spiele-Entwickler gegründet" [G.A.M.E. – Federal Association of Game Developers founded]. GameStar (in German). Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  7. ^ a b Handrahan, Matthew (22 May 2019). "THQ Nordic acquires Gothic developer Piranha Bytes". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  8. ^ Fröhlich, Petra (13 April 2021). "Die größten Games-Studios in Deutschland 2021" [The largest game studios in Germany in 2021]. GamesWirtschaft (in German). Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  9. ^ Klinge, Heiko (17 January 2024). "Neue Informationen zu Piranha Bytes: Das Studio hinter Gothic und Elex steht offenbar kurz vor der Schließung" [New information about Piranha Bytes: The studio behind Gothic and Elex is apparently about to close]. GameStar (in German). Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  10. ^ Fröhlich, Petra (18 January 2024). "Piranha Bytes: Zukunft des Embracer-Studios offen (Update)" [Piranha Bytes: Future of Embracer Studio undetermined (Update)]. GamesWirtschaft (in German). Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  11. ^ Piranha Bytes Announcement
  12. ^ Ivan, Tom (8 July 2024). "Embracer's Gothic and Elex studio Piranha Bytes has reportedly closed down". VGC. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  13. ^ Blake, Vikki (8 July 2024). "Embracer-owned studio Piranha Bytes has been shut down". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  14. ^ Contributor, Vikki Blake (8 July 2024). "Former Piranha Bytes devs form Pithead Studio". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 3 August 2024. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
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