There are video game development studios like Mimimi Games, which due to their regularity (in the best sense) twe tend to take its continuity for granted. In contrast, other studios survive against all odds, even if they appear to be permanent creditors of liquidation due to closure. And yet, on many occasions, reality behaves contrary to common sense, causing the concepts I just commented on to be inverted. Mimimi Games is a clear example of this, although there are actually good reasons for this.

But let’s start from the beginning. This small but successful study Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew was released just two weeks ago, one of the titles we reviewed in the August release list, which has received very good marks on Steam during this time, to the extent that the SteamDB rating shows an excellent 89.92%, a difficult number to achieve, and which is accredited by the good degree work. But it doesn’t end there, let’s take a moment to see all the games developed by Mimimi Games in chronological order and their notes:

• The Last Tinker™: City of Color: Steam – Mostly Positive / SteamDB – 77.03%
• Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun: Steam – Extremely Positive / SteamDB – 94.18%
• Desperados III: Steam – Extremely Positive / SteamDB – 93.99%
• Shadow Tactics: Aiko’s Choice: Steam – Very Positive / SteamDB – 89.51%
• Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew: Steam – Very Positive / SteamDB – 89.92%

His numbers are simply amazing.and I bet any studio, whether it’s a small indie company or a company of hundreds of developers, would be happy to sign such a resume. And that’s why it’s so surprising to know that they decided to close it in the first place. Surprising and sad actually.

Image of Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, the newest game (in every way) from Mimimi Games.

However, the surprise is mitigated when reading the official communique explaining this Mimimi Games closes due to physical and mental exhaustion of its main managers. They confirm in this way that Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew was the last game signed by the studio and that they will be downsizing in the coming months until the studio closes. But before that, they say they’ll be releasing a patch for their latest release, and that they’re also planning an expansion for it to arrive later this year.

Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew undoubtedly was the most complex of the projects implemented by Mimimi Games, and the point is that it’s the first self-published by a company that has on other occasions partnered with the likes of THQ Games and Daedalic (who, coincidentally, also recently announced the closure of their development studio, though in this case it was for very different reasons ). So it seems the latter escapade It was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

«Making these games was amazing and extremely exhausting at the same time. Achieving the level of quality that Mimimi strives for is difficult and requires focus and determination. We also have to realize that our future production costs are growing faster than the potential revenue for our genre. The growing financial pressure and level of risk became unsustainable. Every time our games got closer to release and were finally fun to play, a new battle began to fund other projects, making it a continuous cycle.

[…]

As we spend the last decade and a half of our lives working on increasingly ambitious games, it has come at a high personal cost to us and our families. After the release of Shadow Gambit, we decided it was the right time to prioritize our well-being and slow down before signing on for another multi-year production cycle.»

So, as I said at the beginning, the reasons are actually completely understandable, but unfortunately it doesn’t make it any less punishment for losing a studio like Mimimi Games, who showed so much love in everything he did. Hopefully, yes, those still responsible can regain what they claim to have lost, if they can at least enjoy those aspects of life that have been completely unavailable to them until now. Of course, I can only wish them the best.