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Subscribe to the world's #1 PC gaming mag Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From£35.99View Amazon Prime Day Deals Essential Hardware PC Gaming Show Recommended reading Romero Games reportedly met with Microsoft just a day before the publisher pulled funding for the studio, and there was 'no mention' of the decision that put over 100 people out of work Gaming Industry Romero Games' new shooter loses funding, the studio may be closing, and it looks like Microsoft is to blame Gaming Industry Hideo Kojima's mysterious OD reportedly escapes the cancellation axe at Microsoft Gaming Industry THQ Nordic studio that was set to be closed in 2023 somehow escaped the Embracer death spiral and is now working on a new RPG Game Development 'We wish to express our deepest regret': Bulletstorm and Outriders dev People Can Fly suspends unannounced projects in yet another wave of gaming layoffs Gaming Industry In the wake of Perfect Dark's cancellation, Joanna Dark's voice actor urges fans to help save the series: 'Agent Dark doesn’t give up and neither should any of you' Third Person Shooter MindsEye boss reportedly blames its failure on 'saboteurs' and says a re-launch is in the works, even as the entire development studio is at risk of layoff Gaming Industry Romero Games is not closed: 'We are doing everything in our power to ensure that it does not come to that' Andy Chalk 7 July 2025 The studio says it's now in talks with other publishers about finishing the game it was working on prior to last week's funding cut. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Getty Images) Romero Games, whose in-development shooter was cancelled last week in the wake of (but not necessarily as a result of, more on that later) the major layoffs at Microsoft, has issued a statement on social media clarifying that it is not closed down, and that "we are doing everything in our power to ensure that it does not come to that." Romero Games said on July 3 that funding for its project, a new FPS announced in 2022, had been cancelled, "along with several other unannounced projects at other studios." The publisher went unnamed but given the bloodbath that had occurred at Microsoft the day before—9,000 people laid off, multiple games cancelled, one studio closed outright—the culprit seemed obvious. The fate of Romero Games itself was also left unclear. The funding cancellation alluded to layoffs but made no specific mention of any cuts; multiple employees said they'd been laid off, however, and some said the entire team had been let go, effectively shuttering the studio. Related Articles Romero Games reportedly met with Microsoft just a day before the publisher pulled funding for the studio, and there was 'no mention' of the decision that put over 100 people out of work Romero Games' new shooter loses funding, the studio may be closing, and it looks like Microsoft is to blame Hideo Kojima's mysterious OD reportedly escapes the cancellation axe at Microsoft But that's apparently not the case, and there may even be some hope for the still-unnamed game to make a comeback. In a message shared to social media, Romero Games confirmed that funding for the game was pulled and it was cancelled as a result, but clarified that it is not closed. "Any suggestion otherwise is factually incorrect," Romero Games wrote. "Indeed, we were in the studio today to discuss next steps with the team." The studio also said it's been contacted by several publishers about getting the game "across the finish line" and that it is now "evaluating those opportunities," suggesting that the game is not really cancelled but more just in a state of no-money limbo. Update (July 7, 2025)— @romerogames.bsky.social (@romerogames.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-07-07T22:23:04.141Z Reports of Romero Games' closure may have been premature, but it was also understandable: More than one former employee said on social media that everyone had been let go, and the entire studio had been closed; one actually reposted a message claiming that Romero Games was up for sale. It's all been muddled, but very bad no matter how you slice it, as reflected in the comment that "we now have to reassess the entire staffing of our studio." The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Employee comments on which publisher was responsible for pulling the funding seem more reliable: Romero Games said "confidentiality agreements" prevent it from naming names, but it'd be a hell of a coincidence if some other major publisher cut it off at the very same time as Microsoft's most recent massacre. (The remark that "some may infer it from public information" is also pretty finger-on-nose.) As for who might step in to save the day, that remains a mystery for the moment. It's not terribly surprising that someone wants to step in: After all, 'John and Brenda Romero want money to finish a new shooter they've already been working on for three years' should be a pretty easy sell for anyone with sufficiently deep pockets. Hopefully we'll have news on that, and good news for the studio's staff, soon. Social Links Navigation US News Lead Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Romero Games reportedly met with Microsoft just a day before the publisher pulled funding for the studio, and there was 'no mention' of the decision that put over 100 people out of work Romero Games' new shooter loses funding, the studio may be closing, and it looks like Microsoft is to blame Hideo Kojima's mysterious OD reportedly escapes the cancellation axe at Microsoft THQ Nordic studio that was set to be closed in 2023 somehow escaped the Embracer death spiral and is now working on a new RPG 'We wish to express our deepest regret': Bulletstorm and Outriders dev People Can Fly suspends unannounced projects in yet another wave of gaming layoffs In the wake of Perfect Dark's cancellation, Joanna Dark's voice actor urges fans to help save the series: 'Agent Dark doesn’t give up and neither should any of you' Latest in Gaming Industry Xbox bet that Game Pass would be the future of gaming, and we're all paying for it EA Japan exec laments Microsoft's crushing layoffs, and the demands shareholders make for 'short-term results from large-scale investments' Summer Games Done Quick 2025 is now live—kicking off a full week of speedruns and goofs to raise money for Doctors Without Borders Update: Valve only blocked a creepy fascist Mount and Blade: Warband mod in South Korea, not worldwide, and the mod's own author took it down entirely 'Game Pass is an unsustainable model': Arkane founder slams Microsoft for its Game Pass focus after mass layoffs European game publisher group responds to Stop Killing Games, claims the proposal 'would curtail developer choice' Latest in News 'Hi modders <3': Peak devs know we're using mods to break past the 4-player limit, and they're so cool with it they're even fixing mod-specific bugs Today's Dune: Awakening patch takes another sidestep away from the PvP-heavy endgame Peak modder celebrates the grim achievement of generating 10,000 skeletons in a single day with a mod that 'creates a shared experience of failure and discovery' by littering the island with the corpses of your fellow scouts A Steam Deck owner with three thumbs asked for help modifying the handheld, and Reddit came through: 'I've got 100 different people trying to print different attachments and mailing them to me. 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