Blacklight: Retribution developer Zombie Studios closes

One of the first games I saw at my first PAX Prime back in 2011 was Blacklight: Retribution, a free-to-play first-person shooter from Zombie Studios.  The game went on to release for PC in 2012 and on PlayStation 4 in November 2013. So why is any of this of interest to you?

Because the company that brought us this great game, and so many others, is closing its doors. After 20 years of game development, the owners of Zombie Studios have decided to retire.

A farewell message was posted to the company website thanking present and past employees and fans.

While the announcement caught me off guard, it at least seems that those involved with the company knew about it ahead of time. A new studio, Builder Box, has acquired some of the work Zombie is leaving behind, including all rights to Blacklight: Retribution. And for those of you concerned about the game's future, you can rest easy knowing that this new studio is comprised of past Zombie employees "that put their hearts in Blacklight."

A message from Builder Box that was posted at the start of this year (apparently I missed it) actually gave fans a bit of a heads up.

"While ownership of the game has changed, the people behind the scenes who have been constantly contributing to the Blacklight universe for the last four years remains intact," Builder Box Co-CEOs Andy Kipling and Russell Nelson said. "Builder Box will be working with Perfect World so that, as a fan, you can look forward to more updates and exciting changes in the coming year."