Two Tribes, the studio behind the upcoming Rive and Toki Tori are to call it quits once Rive is released later this year.
Back in 2013 Two Tribes decided to “reboot” the studio and refocus but it appears that has not been enough for Two Tribes to compete in today’s competitive video game sector. In a frank and honest update, the two Two Tribes founders explain their departure from the game industry stating that they have been unable to move with the times.
“The industry changed a lot since we started in 2000. Back then, there were maybe a dozen game developers here in The Netherlands. It was extremely difficult to enter the global games industry, as you needed to have a track record and experience. Even if you took a shot, you still had to secure backing from a publisher, since the only way to reach gamers was through physical distribution.
“While we were working on Toki Tori 2+ for two years, the industry was changing without us realizing it. The market was flooded with games by developers from all around the world. Game development schools were erected, and every year thousands of students tried their luck under increasingly difficult conditions. With game changers such as the Humble Bundle, the ever-continuing race to the bottom and a growing focus on free-to-play games, it became tough for a game to even hit the break-even point.
“Long story short (grandfathers like to digress!): when running a company, you need to be on top of your game, not just in terms of the product you’re making, but business-wise too. And we just aren’t on top of the games business anymore. Therefore, it makes sense to focus our attention elsewhere, perhaps even outside the games industry. We simply don’t know yet; but we do know that RIVE is going to be our parting gift to you and we’re making damn sure it’s going to be an awesome one!”
The industry is moving faster than ever before and there are literally thousands of games released on platforms such as Steam every year making it incredibly hard to market a game effectively.
Rive will be Two Tribes final game and it’s a mental platform shooter as you can see from the new trailer below. Rive will release in September 2016.
