Arc Games and Rogue Snail have ‘parted ways’, with the latter now in full control of its 2023 shooter Legend of the Relic Hunters effective immediately.
The mutual split, according to Rogue Snail CEO Mark Venturelli, “sucks.” He went on to thank Arc for working with the studio, calling it “the best publishing partner I’ve had in 16 years in the industry.”
To date, this appears to be the only rift between Arc and the developers under its umbrella. Still, Heart Machine, whose Hyper Light Breaker publishes Arc, recently teased that it works with The return of digital on his next project.
As for Relic Hunters Rogue Snail has said it will seek “viable solutions” to find new partnerships and keep the game (and itself) in early access. It also led to a number of unspecified layoffs.
Ark rebranding last April, and at the time, assured that the change would be purely cosmetic. Formerly Gearbox Publishing in San Francisco, the new title was prompted by the sale of Embracer to the Gearbox organization to Take-Two a week before.
“[Arc Games] good people doing their best,” Venturelli continued.[It’s] moving in a new direction, but it gave us power and freedom of control Legends of relic hunters future”.
In addition to the division, Rogue Snail added an offline mode to the game and a “restructured” story mode that doesn’t require you to play other parts of the game.
While the search for a new partner aims to be “sustainable”, the developer admitted that it could take some time due to “tough times” in the industry, which have hurt studios big and small.