Motion Twin announced that they would not be updating Dead Cells after the next update, and the game designer criticised his former studio for the move.
Creative differences are always bound to happen in any of the arts industries. The latest online squabble came from the co-founder of Motion Twin, Sébastien Benard, who helped design and develop Dead Cells at his former studio. And now, Motion Twin announced the game’s upcoming Update 35 will be its last. The Metroidvania game has been in the hands of Motion Twin’s other studio called Evil Empire, since the departure of Benard in March 2020. Benard went on to open his own independent studio, Deepnight Games. And now, Motion Twin announced the game’s upcoming Update 35 will be its last.
The roguelike game Dead Cells was critically acclaimed in 2018, and the studio wanted to continue to update it while still moving on to other projects. This was why the updates were handled by a separate studio. But now, Motion Twin have stated that “After an incredible five-year collaboration in bringing additional content to Dead Cells, Evil Empire will be pursuing new adventures, and we can’t wait to see what they come up with next.”
While this move appeared to be more agreeable to all parties, it seems like they never had much input from the game’s designer. Benard posted on the official Dead Cells Discord server that hints that the deal was less amicable than his former studio let on. As spotted by PCGamesN, Benard was asked by a user for his take on the situation and suggested that Motion Twin’s decision has negatively affected Evil Empire.
Benard was already in a rocky relationship with his previous studio, as he noted the “complicated” nature of their team dynamics. When asked, he explained how their relations became so complicated that “it led to [his] forced departure” where they asked him to leave in December 2019. “Since you’re asking me, I’d just say [Motion Twin] did the worst imaginable ***hole move against Dead Cells and [Evil Empire],” Benard wrote following Motion Twin’s update 35 statement.
“Having seen first hand the actual situation behind the scene, I can honestly say I’m glad to not be part of this anymore. The official statement is total marketing bull****, the way this situation happened is on a whole different level. I never imagined my former co-op studio would turn out to be such greedy people. I wish the absolute best to [Evil Empire] for their next things, and hope people working there will survive this sudden economic cut.”
Motion Twin and Evil Empire have yet to respond to Benard’s posts. The game has received five major annual expansions to date, the last on contained a crossover with the Castlevania series.
