• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

5TH Cell (Scribblenauts, Drawn to Life) laying off most staff, skeleton crew remain

Tweet from Lead Animator at 5TH Cell, Tim Borrelli.

https://twitter.com/Anim8der/status/712052739719598080

Condolences to the staff.

UPDATE

http://www.polygon.com/2016/3/21/11...ays-off-staff-as-scribblenauts-fighting-words

Polygon said:
Scribblenauts developer 5th Cell says it has laid off staff following the cancellation of Scribblenauts: Fighting Words by publisher Warner Bros.

The number of staff affected is unknown at present. "WB cancelled [Scribblenauts: Fighting Words] today so we had to lay off the staff," said CEO Jeremiah Slaczka in a message to Polygon. "It happened so quick we're not sure what the plans are going forward yet." Slaczka added that a statement would be released in the coming hours.

So yeah, those saying that it sounded like it was sudden were correct, as it seems WB cut funding of their next game and don't have enough in reserve to survive without it.

UPDATE 2

http://kotaku.com/scribblenauts-developer-5th-cell-laid-off-a-number-of-e-1766265552

Kotaku said:
Scribblenauts developer 5th Cell laid off a number of employees today, following layoffs last week, the studio told me. Contrary to tweets, creative director Jeremiah Slaczka said they’re not shutting down. Latest layoffs are due to WB cancelling a Scribblenauts mobile game. Remaining staff is “tiny,” said Slaczka.
 

Ridley327

Member
A shame, but perhaps not entirely unexpected when Scribblenauts faded away like it did. Hope the team members land on their feet.
 

kulapik

Member
Their last project was a f2p ARPG/card game they crowdfunded on Fig and it failed, so I can see why they are closing down, sadly.
 

BY2K

Membero Americo
What the fuck one of my co-workers was just talking to me today about how it had been a while since we last heard about them.

This is getting blamed on him, tomorrow!
 
Terribly sad. I remember there being some love for Drawn to Life (it was considered a good-not-great 3rd party game) but Scribblenauts...man, that game was just so unique and ambitious. The "type any word" gameplay was a riot. Yeah, if your goal was to simply beat the levels it left a bit to be desired. However, if you just wanted to mess around and enjoy the engine it was a blast. The devs really had a child-like imagination that was a pleasure to dig through sometimes.
 

Lijik

Member
Not a big surprise since they never seemed to rebound from the Scribblenauts series fizzling out, but still a major bummer. Hope everyone affected can find new jobs.

Terribly sad. I remember there being some love for Drawn to Life (it was considered a good-not-great 3rd party game) but Scribblenauts...man, that game was just so unique and ambitious. The "type any word" gameplay was a riot. Yeah, if your goal was to simply beat the levels it left a bit to be desired. However, if you just wanted to mess around and enjoy the engine it was a blast. The devs really had a child-like imagination that was a pleasure to dig through sometimes.

Honestly the most fun I had with the series was just killing time with the title screen in Super Scribblenauts. It was such a fun time waster, the puzzle levels were more like a fun bonus for me
Those games were really fun for messing around in
 
That's a shame favorite game from them was probably Lock's Quest, found the Scribblenauts games alright, but found the execution of the cool concept lacking. Hope everyone who is affected finds jobs elsewhere.
 

Rembrandt

Banned
damn, scribblenauts was still an incredibly original idea. those mobile ports should have brought in some money.

sad to see them go.
 

L Thammy

Member
What? That sucks. There aren't a lot of franchises with as much potential of Scribblenauts. Going to grab Scribblenauts Remix tonight.
 
This really sucks. I remember being so freaking excited for Scribblenauts back then, still playing it with my little brother. Hope everyone lands on another awesome job.
 
Neogaf we need to poor one out on one of greatest success stories we ever did.
From obscure game at E3 to million+ seller on the DS.
WE MADE 5TH CELL into what it was WE DID that.

RIP 5th cell best of luck to all involved :(
 

_woLf

Member
It's really a shame and I hope everyone lands on their feet, but I have heard it was not a good place to work. I've heard very poor things about their management so this doesn't come as much of a surprise.
 
I guess that Fig campaign not working out really sealed their fate.

It could very well be that. But if the fate of your studio rests with crowdfunding to keep it afloat, then they probably weren't too healthy anyways. At least no backers lost money.
 

NateDrake

Member
Always wanted to play Scribblenauts for Wii U, but never picked the game up. May have to do that now. They were a creative company and offered some fresh ideas, so it's a damn shame to see them shutdown.
 

Tagyhag

Member
That's a shame, I thought they were working on something? Hope the employees can get back to their feet.

Edit: Just saw the Fig campaign, wow, that looked super cool. Should have went with Kickstarter.
 

IronLich

Member
I really liked Scribblenauts Unmasked on the 3DS. Scribblenauts itself was a great idea, but it was real nice they got that much of their fingerprints on the DC license. Just a shame the series kinda faded away after that. I wish this team the best.
 

EloNoolah

Member
Didn't their art lead do a ton of custom avatars for GAF users prior to the release of the original Scribblenauts? It's heartbreaking to see a creative, prolific dev like 5TH CELL shutter. Hopefully everyone will find work :(
 
Top Bottom