MiMiMi Games to shut down

[danutz_plusplus]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1696501045780746521

View: https://twitter.com/MimimiProd/status/1696501045780746521?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet


Man, how awful. I thought they were doing ok. I wonder if this means these sorts of real-time tactics games just don't sell?
Or were they mismanaged? Anyway, really sad. The only studio still doing Commandos-style games. Fuck.

 

[JDR13]

Didn't you literally just buy that game? Have you played it yet?

 

[Couchpotato]

Ouch guess that cursed pirate game didn't sell to well. Blame BG3?

 

[danutz_plusplus]

Didn't you literally just buy that game? Have you played it yet?

No, not yet. But it does sound weird that they close shop after they release it.
Apparently they're still working on DLC for it, and then it's that?
This sounds a bit like this was planned for them to wrap up? Did they really not manage to scrape by.
Or maybe that's the issue? The owners of the studio are just not making enough money, and are closing shop?

 

[JDR13]

I'd give it a try, and if it doesn't grab you, I'd get a refund. It's questionable how much post-release support it'll receive.

 

[Gorath]

I'd give it a try, and if it doesn't grab you, I'd get a refund. It's questionable how much post-release support it'll receive.

Actually no, post-release support is secured, including new content. They're not closing, they're slowly winding down.

Many more details can be found in their detailed blog post.

 

[Gorath]

Ouch guess that cursed pirate game didn't sell to well. Blame BG3?

Apparently it sold well enough to give every employee a bonus.
My impression about the release was the same as yours though.

 

[danutz_plusplus]

Yeah, I wasn't planning on refunding even if there wasn't any post-release content. It would be a shame to do that, with their last game. They really did a very decent job with every game they worked on.
It's sad when a good studio closes. Fucking market.

So it's safe to say the Commandos style real-time tactics genre is dead.

 

[Gorath]

The Mimimi founders explain on their blog that the reason for winding down the company in a controlled manner is that the two of them have been under permanent heavy stress since 2011. They have family now and they don't think they can reach a reasonable work-life-balance if they continue with a new cycle.

So maybe they are close to a burn-out. Work-life-balance is a big thing in Germany. If you say you're working 60+ hours a week, 20+ of them overtime, most people will doubt your intelligence.

What they're not saying is that on the one hand they will help their employees find new work. Probably all of them because Mimimi has a superb reputation. But on the other hand the company will continue to exist as a publisher for their existing catalog. So the two owners will earn their money that way instead of cashing out once like most others.

 

[Gorath]

So it's safe to say the Commandos style real-time tactics genre is dead.

Except for the new Commandos.

And it's still possible that somebody like Embracer takes over the whole team and moves it into another company under new management. The blog even mentions that the offices can be rented and everything in it is for sale.
As an established publisher I would seriously consider this.

 

[danutz_plusplus]

Except for the new Commandos.

And it's still possible that somebody like Embracer takes over the whole team and moves it into another company under new management. The blog even mentions that the offices can be rented and everything in it is for sale.
As an established publisher I would seriously consider this.

Is this the one you mean? https://www.pcgamer.com/a-brand-new-commandos-game-is-in-development/
I had no idea it was under development.

 

[Gorath]

Is this the one you mean? https://www.pcgamer.com/a-brand-new-commandos-game-is-in-development/
I had no idea it was under development.

Yes, this one. Generally speaking you can expect a AA production of above average to good quality from an internal Kalypso production. So expect a 75%-80% game and be happy if it's an 83 after some patching. This could be solid, but don't expect Mimimi level of quaility.

 

[Couchpotato]

Except for the new Commandos.

And it's still possible that somebody like Embracer takes over the whole team and moves it into another company under new management. The blog even mentions that the offices can be rented and everything in it is for sale.
As an established publisher I would seriously consider this.

Wouldn't count on that as Embracer has suffered a huge loss with a failed deal for another publisher, and announced they are restructuring, and focusing on LotR.

 

[notdart]

Well that is a shame they did the wonderful shadow tactics game.

 

[Shagnak]

Seems a bit strange to announce this so soon after their latest release - couldn't it affect sales? Then again, maybe rumours of people shopping around their resumes wihtout a publicised reason might be worse.

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Oh, apparingly they were on the Games Com as well ... Being for several days among so many people must be stressful, too ...

 

[Gorath]

Wouldn't count on that as Embracer has suffered a huge loss with a failed deal for another publisher, and announced they are restructuring, and focusing on LotR.

LotR is a licensing business for external products.
Taking over an experienced team (without IPs) for peanuts - basically just paying off the office furniture and then covering the running costs - would be a good idea. Of course only Embracer knows if restructuring excludes further investments.
Germany currently suffers from a lack of qualified workers. I bet the game development industry is no exception.

The only big factor would be to find a suitable project and the funding for it. The easy solution would be Desperados 4, an Embracer IP.

We'll see. Of course I'm jsut speculating. It's more likely the team will be dissolved and everybody goes on his/her way.

 

[Gorath]

The key problem at Embracer seems to be that they've started (pre-)production on several projects based on their "good" negotiations and a verbal agreement with WhoEverTheFuckItWas. Now that it's clear the 2B$ budget over a couple of years won't come, they need to restructure their product pipeline. Their current business is growing, but not enough to compensate for, say, the 2B$ split over 4 years. So they need to lose some projects, which usually automatically means the attached studios too.