Weekend Highlights (May 31 — June 1)

People Can Fly has put the development of two more games on "pause" and announced layoffs, the success of R.E.P.O. allowed the studio that created it to survive, Candy Crush Solitaire has performed better than expected by King — here are the main gaming industry events from the past weekend.

R.E.P.O.

Head of People Can Fly Sebastian Wojciechowski reported that his company is experiencing tough times. Six months after the suspension of a game codenamed Project Victoria, they have been forced to halt development on two more titles: Project Bifrost and Project Gemini. It should be noted that the latter was being developed in partnership with Square Enix. Wojciechowski explained that Project Gemini was put on hold because Square Enix did not provide People Can Fly with the promised plan for the next stages of development nor clarified whether they wanted to continue working on the game at all. Ultimately, the uncertainty about the future of Project Gemini impacted Project Bifrost. Additionally, a recent audit showed that People Can Fly does not have enough money to produce and publish this game. Wojciechowski further mentioned that People Can Fly intends to undergo restructuring and lay off some employees, though he did not disclose how many people are expected to be let go.
The slow pace of development was one of the main reasons why Electronic Arts (EA) canceled the Black Panther game, according to Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier's sources. The game had been in the pre-production stage for about four years. This prolonged process was due to the relatively small size of Cliffhanger Games — the studio had only recently begun expanding — and the lengthy search for ideas. The situation was further complicated by Cliffhanger Games' desire to implement a Nemesis system-like mechanic in the game, which was difficult to demonstrate to EA’s management. Nevertheless, Schreier writes, the cancellation of the Black Panther game was a shock to its creators. The project had just successfully passed through what are known as "gates" — a process where decisions are made about whether to continue development. Following this, Cliffhanger Games was preparing to work on a vertical slice, but didn't get the chance. The studio is now shutting down.
The developers of the notable indie horror game R.E.P.O. admitted that their studio was on the brink of closure just before the game’s release. Fortunately, they avoided a grim outcome. "Not long ago, we were crossing our fingers hoping that we’d have enough money for rent, and today millions of players are storming our servers to play our game," said semiwork. According to Gamalytic, since February 26, 2025, R.E.P.O. has sold approximately 12.6 million copies on Steam and generated $105.1 million in gross revenue.
Anna Busquet, Director of New Games at King, shared in an interview with PocketGamer that Candy Crush Solitaire, which launched globally on February 6, "exceeded the company's business expectations." However, she did not provide specific figures. According to AppMagic, the mobile project's net IAP revenue today stands at $5.2 million, with 7.5 million downloads. Busquet noted that Candy Crush Solitaire is still in its "launch and learn" phase. One of the game's goals is to introduce more people to the Candy Crush brand while avoiding cannibalizing other games.
Tatsuya Kando, game director for The World Ends With You series, has left Square Enix after 29 years with the company. He announced his decision on social media. Although Kando did not specify what prompted his departure, he stated that he continues to "create interesting content."