Gearbox Publishing and Rogue Snail have “parted ways,” and the latter now has full control of its 2023 shooter Relic Hunters Legend effective immediately.
The mutual split, in the words of Rogue Snail CEO Mark Venturelli, “sucks.” He went on to thank Gearbox Publishing’s Austin team for working with the studio, calling it “the best publishing partner I’ve had in my 16 years in this industry.”
To date, this appears to be the only split between Gearbox and developers working its former publishing umbrella.
As for Relic Hunters, Rogue Snail said it’ll pursue “viable solutions” to find new partnerships and keep the Early Access game (and itself) alive. This has also resulted in a number of unspecified layoffs.
Gearbox Publishing’s recent past
Arc rebranded this past April, and at the time, assured the change would be strictly a cosmetic one. Formerly Gearbox Publishing San Francisco, the company changed after Embracer sold Gearbox Software to Take-Two a week prior.
“[Gearbox] are good people, doing the best they can,” continued Venturelli. “[It’s] heading in a new direction now, but it gave us the power and freedom to control Relic Hunters Legend’s future.”
In addition to the split, Rogue Snail added an offline mode to the game, and a “restructured” Story Mode that doesn’t make it a requirement to play other parts of the game.
While it aims to be “resilient” on the search for a new partner, the developer admitted it may take some time due to the “difficult times” of the industry that’s hurt studios big and small.
Correction: This post has been updated to clarify that Rogue Snail’s partnership with the Gearbox Publishing entity came to an end, not Arc Games.