Well, we didn’t see this coming in light of the fact they just launched Radical Heights but Boss Key Productions has closed down.

A statement from Cliff Bleszinski reads:

As of today, Boss Key Productions is effectively no more. Four years ago I set out to make a world-class video game studio and I hired some of the best talent in the videogame industry. They worked tirelessly to produce quality products, and while we had our ups and downs, I’d like to think we had fun doing it, Lawbreakers was a great game that unfortunately failed to gain traction, and, in a last-ditch attempt we scrambled to take on the huge battle royale genre with Radical Heights which was well received, however, it was too little too late. As for myself, I’m going to take some time off to reflect. I need to focus on myself and family as well as my Aussie, Teddy, who is slowly fading from us. Videogames will forever be a part of who I am and I hope to make something new again someday, however, I need to withdraw and take this time. Please note that servers for Radical Heights will remain up in the near future. Thanks agian, Cliff.

Cliff Bleszinski left Epic in 2012 following success with Gears of War and went into retirement before reappearing in 2014 to announce his new studio Boss Key Productions. Lawbreakers was then announced in August 2016.

Lawbreakers was the game that broke Boss Key and it was by no means terrible, it just lacked any real personality and was up against the likes of Overwatch in the same space at the same time.

Cliff is right when he says Radical Heights was too little too late. Again, the game showed some promise but it was far from complete and it would have taken some time to bring it up to standard. Meanwhile, Fortnite continues to rake in the cash.

Last month, CliffyB accused Epic of poaching staff away from the Radical Heights team which was called out by a member of staff who had left. It looks like they dodged a bullet by departing.

There is a lesson here for developers, do not chase trends because that ultimately broke Boss Key. Less battle royale and more original thinking.