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Silent Hill: Downpour Developers Are "Under Review"

Jul 23 2012 11:15 AM | Marcus Estrada in Industry News

Silent Hill

Uh oh... This year's latest Silent Hill release was developed by the Czech studio Vatra Games. The game seemed pretty hit or miss with fans new and old and had its fair share of (still un-patched) glitches. We're now hearing that the Vatra studio as a whole is now being evaluated by their parent company Kuju.

The official statement from Kuju is as follows:

"The new management team at Kuju have been conducting a strategic review of all aspects of the business, as part of this process the on-going business activities of the Vatra studio are currently under review, however, at this stage no decisions have yet been made."

Could this be the end for Vatra? They haven't had a very long life so far, having only Silent Hill: Downpour and Rush'n Attack: Ex-Patriot under their belts. The company was initially brought about by Czech 2K employees branching off to start something new. If the studio does end up closing, then we wish the best for Vatra's employees. If not, then let's hope we'll be able to see their upcoming games shortly.

5 Comments

Harrison Lee

Jul 23 2012 02:12 PM

Konami's handling of most of it's recent IPs has been on the rougher side. I've seen next to zero PR work being done and, if the developer conferences from past E3s are anything to go by, will continue to be this way. Konami used to be a major publishing force in the industry. What the blazes went wrong with a company that owns stuff like Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill?

Laddie13

Jul 23 2012 09:24 PM

It's sad that so many game developers are being shut down lately. It seems as if games do not sell well in the first few months publishers give up on them. I've been a fan of the Silent Hill series for a long time but even I passed on Downpour. I don't doubt that I will eventually buy it but for whatever reason I wasn't feeling it at the time of it's release.
I also agree with Harrisson that Konami hasn't been stellar in it's handling of releases lately. It's as if they have given up and are relying on the reputation of the Konami brand, an unfortunate business practice in such a competitive market.

Number 905

Jul 23 2012 09:43 PM

Yeah, as much as some people may dislike some games, the real truth of it is that there's a bunch of people whose jobs are lost or in jeopardy over one under-performing title. Maybe it's cynicism on my part, but I doubt that the real people behind the decisions that made these games so poorly received are facing unemployment as well.

Kezins

Jul 24 2012 01:10 AM

The blame always goes to the little guy. Downpour was fun, but it wasn't like the old games. I really think the art of storytelling has been mostly lost in this generation. I don't feel attached to many games like I did in the past.

Harrison Lee

Jul 24 2012 10:48 AM

Yeah, as much as some people may dislike some games, the real truth of it is that there's a bunch of people whose jobs are lost or in jeopardy over one under-performing title. Maybe it's cynicism on my part, but I doubt that the real people behind the decisions that made these games so poorly received are facing unemployment as well.

It's funny you mention that, because THQ is in a similar position right now. I'm pretty sure it all began with Frontlines: Fuels of War (Kaos's first title). After that title sold poorly, things were going well on the surface. Below, however, I think a lot of problems hit Kaos hard. Considering they were THQ's go-to MP shooter developers, having to close them down is a high blow to their development pool. If Homefront hadn't been rushed through development, it could have been so much better. That's why i think they're really taking a different approach with Metro: Last Light, a title that they are not letting slip under the radar. Metro looks amazing, and THQ wants us to know it. If this fails, I think THQ could face serious lay-offs.

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