{"id":52389,"date":"2025-09-26T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=52389"},"modified":"2025-09-26T17:15:33","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T08:15:33","slug":"entire-development-team-behind-crowdfunded-princess-maker-game-laid-off-mid-early-access","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/entire-development-team-behind-crowdfunded-princess-maker-game-laid-off-mid-early-access\/","title":{"rendered":"Entire development team behind crowdfunded Princess Maker game laid off mid-early access, project to be transferred to external company\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Developed by South Korean game studio D-ZARD under an official license from Gainax, Princess Maker: Children of Revelation<\/strong> is the first new mainline Princess Maker game since 2007. The title launched in early access on Steam<\/a> in July this year, aiming for full release in the first half of 2026. However, as of recent, development has run into a big setback, with the entire original dev team reportedly being laid off.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Princess<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According to ThisIsGame<\/a>, D-ZARD recently underwent major restructuring and halted all projects. The studio, which also develops the online PvP title Asurajang, counted 38 employees in July 2025, but its headcount dropped to just 7 in September. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On September 25, the official Princess Maker: Children of Revelation\u00a0Naver blog<\/a> released a statement and apology, in which it\u2019s confirmed that \u201call team members have left\u201d and that the project is being transferred to a new external company. They warn about previously announced updates\u00a0for September and October being delayed, but assure players that the game will be completed.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An anonymous former D-ZARD employee told ThisIsGame that the restructuring was abrupt, with most employees finding out at the last minute. From the beginning of August, members were called in meetings and laid off one by one. It seems like negotiations about Princess Maker\u2019s transfer to another developer had already progressed a good deal before any announcements were made.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Princess<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Notably, D-ZARD had crowdfunded about $250k in funding for Princess Maker\u2019s development from 4,837 backers in 2024, surpassing its goal by over 350% (source: Gamevu<\/a>). Based on the development team\u2019s recent statements, the crowdfunding project (hosted on Tumblbug) will likewise be transferred to the new company taking charge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Princess Maker: Children of Revelation is out in early access for PC (Steam<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related article: Japanese gacha game developer asks 100 employees to resign voluntarily, only 47 accept\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

D-ZARD, developer of Princess Maker: Children of Revelation, recently underwent abrupt restructuring and halted all development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":52392,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[18],"class_list":["post-52389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-global-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nEntire development team behind crowdfunded Princess Maker game laid off mid-early access, project to be transferred to external company\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"D-ZARD, developer of Princess Maker: Children of Revelation, recently underwent abrupt restructuring and halted all development.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/entire-development-team-behind-crowdfunded-princess-maker-game-laid-off-mid-early-access\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Entire development team behind crowdfunded Princess Maker game laid off mid-early access, project to be transferred to external company\u00a0 - 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