Galacide dev Puny Human closes, cites unpaid fees from publishing contract

After a 16-year run, developer Puny Human revealed it'll be closing its doors. 

Per a press release, the studio will eliminate all of its full-time positions by the end of the year, and liquidate its assets. It also plans on selling off specific properties and releasing the source code for some of its earlier projects before its closure.

CEO Mike Sanders attributed Puny Human's closure to an unnamed client who he claims "refused previously agreed-upon payments. That deprived us of the cash flow to fully pitch our in-progress title and triggered successive failures in our operating income. I take full responsibility for not sufficiently preparing for this outcome.”

Puny Human's significant output

Puny Human formed in 2007, spinning out of the popular modder group Team Dystopia. Over the years, it released titles such as Galacide and Blade Symphony. It's also co-developed titles such as Squanch Games' Trover Saves the Universe and Striking Distance Studios' The Callisto Protocol. 

"[Going] from a full-time staff of 20 hardworking individuals in 2023 to zero is heartbreaking and difficult to reveal to our communities, advocates, and friends," Sanders added. "We developed three fantastic and groundbreaking original titles and contributed to more than thirty amazing video games and software projects in the last eight years."

The end of Puny Human is the first studio shut down for the month of October and continues on from a string of layoffs from developers across the game industry since the summer.