It's a strange situation at Moon Studios: CEO first says the company is under threat due to bad reviews for No Rest for the Wicked, and now he's making excuses

Moon Studios, known for the Ori series, found itself in a difficult situation due to a wave of negative reviews for its project No Rest for the Wicked. CEO Thomas Mahler openly stated that the studio may not survive the coming months due to review bombing, but later softened his words, assuring that there is no financial crisis at the moment.

Here's What We Know

No Rest for the Wicked, Moon Studios' first attempt at the action RPG genre, was released in early access on PC in April 2024. The game combines the atmosphere and gameplay elements from Diablo, Dark Souls, and Elden Ring, but it faced a mixed reaction from players. After the release of the new patch in early May, numerous negative reviews began to appear on Steam, which led to a sharp drop in the game's rating.

In his message on Discord, Mahler expressed concern that the studio might "not be able to survive for several months" due to the low rating. He urged fans to support the game with positive feedback, as it is critical for the continuation of development and a full release. After this appeal, more than 2000 positive reviews appeared on Steam in two days, which slightly improved the situation.

However, many of the negative reviews contain constructive criticism: players complain about the difficult balance, excessive number of timers, inconvenient gameplay and annoying design. One user noted that the game's difficulty was more related to frustration due to small, annoying mechanics than to challenge.

Later, Mahler clarified on Twitter that the studio was not in "immediate financial danger" and that his initial words were a reaction to "unfair" reviews. He also stressed that Moon Studios is closely monitoring feedback and working on improvements.

Previously, the studio has already faced criticism for its internal work environment. According to GamesBeat, the founders of the studio sometimes publicly criticised employees and created a tense atmosphere that led to overload and conflicts.

Source: @thomasmahler