Tale of Tales, the developer behind the recently released Sunset, is shutting down with no plans to make more commercial games in the future.

The main reason for the developer's closure is the poor sales of Sunset and the unrecouped investment that was poured in the game. Reading a very honest blog post from Tale of Tales' Michaël Samyn and Auriea Harvey reveals it was about more than just money, though. As a final note, Samyn and Harvey wrote the following:

We are happy and proud that we have tried to make a “game for gamers.” We really did our best with Sunset, our very best. And we failed. So that’s one thing we never need to do again. Creativity still burns wildly in our hearts but we don’t think we will be making videogames after this. And if we do, definitely not commercial ones.

Unfortunately, Sunset – a narrative-focused game where players play as a housekeeper cleaning a penthouse as a war unfolds – did not resonate with us. You can read our review here.

[Source: Tale of Tales, (Google cached version) via NeoGAF]

Our Take

It's always disappointing to hear of studio closures, regardless of size, but I appreciate Tale of Tales' candor regarding why it is closing its doors and the specific reasons. It's rare insight we don't often hear when it comes to a studio closing its doors and will likely serve as a cautionary tale or best practices information for young developers.