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The first game from Pixyul, the studio formed by a pair of ex-Ubisoft Montreal developers, has been cancelled.
ReRoll was announced in 2014 by Julien Cuny and Louis-Pierre Pharand. The game’s headline feature was an open environment that would be an exact replica of the whole Earth, with a mix of drones and existing data used to translate the real-world environment into the game.
Funds were being raised for the title through pre-orders for multiple game packages, ranging from a $19.99 starter pack to the comprehensive $275 ‘Ready for Anything’ bundle.
Despite its impressive technology and unique approach to crowdfunding, the ambitious project has now been cancelled, with its creators citing a lack of finance and struggle to secure backing from publishing partners.
“Things started great and we were hyped by the agreement we signed with the city of Montreal and we started prototyping our first environment,” Pixyul wrote in an email to backers, later posted on Reddit. “We had high hopes to secure the necessary funds to achieve our final goal.
“Unfortunately, the money raised with the campaign plus our personal investments were not enough to develop the game on our own. We invested everything in building up the necessary elements to pitch the project to potential partners.”
Expanding on its attempts to sign with a publisher, Pixyul said that “talks were really well advanced with two very different publishers”.
“One wanted to invest way more money that we initially budgeted and wanted to make ReRoll a triple-A game,” it said. “The other was very interested but was not willing to invest the amount we planned.
“After months of discussions, back and forth on every topics imaginable, both stopped the procedures for very different reasons. One decided to invest and focus on their own properties. The other, after a difficult fiscal year, decided to focus on smaller budget games. We were crushed.”
The note concludes: “After being so close on multiple occasions, today, we have to face the fact that this rejection was our last hope to secure the necessary funding to pursue the development and complete the game.
“This is why we are officially announcing that the development of ReRoll is over. “
The studio is offering supporters free copies of its previous game, first-person shooter Bios, but responses on social media have been a combination of sympathy and anger at not being offered refunds or similar compensation. Many have called for ReRoll’s source code to be released, as an attempt to deliver the product they paid for.
