Moon Studios Explained

Moon Studios GmbH
Type:Private
Industry:Video games
Hq Location City:Vienna
Hq Location Country:Austria
Num Employees:80+ (2020)
Key People:Thomas Mahler (CEO)
Products:Ori series
No Rest for the Wicked

Moon Studios GmbH is an Austrian video game developer founded in 2010.[1] They are best known for their 2015 title Ori and the Blind Forest, for which the studio was awarded the Best Debut award at the 2016 Game Developers Choice Awards.[2] In 2020, the studio released a sequel, Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

History

The studio was founded in 2010 by Thomas Mahler and Gennadiy Korol. During Mahler's tenure at Blizzard Entertainment, the successes of independent games like Castle Crashers, Limbo, and Braid encouraged him to leave the company to found an independent studio. The two chose the name "Moon Studios" as the company name as they were inspired by John F. Kennedy's quote, "We choose to go to the Moon". Mahler described Moon Studios as a "virtual studio," as the team did not rent an office and instead recruited talents from all over the world. Team members came from places such as Austria, Australia, Israel and the United States, and they collaborated with each other using the Internet.[3] The company's headquarters are located in Mahler's native Vienna.[4]

After assembling the team, Moon Studios started creating prototypes. One early prototype was named Warsoup, a first-person shooter mixed with real-time strategy elements. Another prototype was named Sein, a platformer with Metroidvania gameplay. Moon Studios started pitching Warsoup to publishers. Microsoft dismissed Warsoup but agreed to fund Sein, with Microsoft retaining the rights to the intellectual property. With a core team of 10 people alongside several remote working contractors, the game, which would later be renamed Ori and the Blind Forest, took the team 4 years to develop.[5]

The team met with each other for the first time at E3 2014, when the announcement trailer was released.[6] Ori and the Blind Forest received critical acclaim when it was released in March 2015. It was also a commercial success, as it recouped its development in 7 days.[7]

Following the success of Ori and the Blind Forest, the team expanded significantly. As of March 2020, the studio employed more than 80 people and recruited talents from 43 countries. To facilitate communication, Moon built its communication tool named "Apollo".[8] The team also organized yearly retreats to ensure the team bond together. At E3 2017, they announced a sequel, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, which was released for the Xbox One and Windows 10 on March 10, 2020.[9]

The company is now working on an action role-playing game No Rest for the Wicked, which is set to be published by Private Division.[10] It is set to be released via early access for Windows PC on April 18, 2024. Versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S were also in development.[11]

Games developed

YearTitlePlatform(s)Publisher(s)
2015Ori and the Blind ForestNintendo Switch, Windows, Xbox OneMicrosoft Studios
2020Ori and the Will of the WispsNintendo Switch, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/SXbox Game Studios
No Rest for the WickedPlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/SPrivate Division

Allegations of workplace abuse

In March 2022, VentureBeat published an article that detailed allegations of workplace abuse at Moon Studios with a particular focus on Mahler and Korol. These included claims of regular arguments during development, claims of a oppressive crunch culture at the studio and claims of racist, sexist, and anti-semitic language being used by Mahler and Korol during work hours.[12] [13]

In a response to the report, Mahler and Korol claimed the details of the report were not representative of the working environment of the studio, nor its employees, touted the studio's multiculturalism, but also acknowledge that they have teased their cultural backgrounds. In addition, they expressed regret if anyone on staff felt uncomfortable or let down by their actions.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Postmortem: Moon Studios' heartfelt Ori and the Blind Forest . Mahler . Thomas . 5 May 2015 . . . 27 April 2016 . 9 May 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160509153433/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/242530/Postmortem_Moon_Studios_heartfelt_Ori_and_the_Blind_Forest.php . live .
  2. Web site: Witcher 3 wins Game of the Year at 16th annual Game Developers Choice Awards . Staff . 16 March 2016 . . . 27 April 2016 . 19 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160319082958/http://www.gdconf.com/news/witcher_3_wins_game_of_the_yea.html . live .
  3. Web site: Ori and the Blind Forest's producer wants his beautiful Xbox One exclusive to play as good as it looks (interview) . Mike Minotti . Yahoo! Games . Yahoo!, Inc. . June 18, 2014 . June 23, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714233707/https://games.yahoo.com/news/ori-blind-forest-producer-wants-210052888.html . July 14, 2014 . mdy-all.
  4. Web site: "Die Arroganz in Österreich regt mich auf" . de . Alexander U. . Mathé . 8 March 2019 . . 9 March 2022 . 20 December 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211220193608/https://www.wienerzeitung.at/nachrichten/digital/spielplatz/2000533-Die-Arroganz-in-Oesterreich-regt-mich-auf.html . live .
  5. Web site: AAA should invest in indies - Ori dev . Brendan . Sinclair . Gameindustry.biz . April 15, 2015 . December 12, 2020 . 9 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220309173726/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2015-04-15-aaa-should-invest-in-indies-ori-dev . live .
  6. Web site: Postmortem: Moon Studios' heartfelt Ori and the Blind Forest Exclusive . Thomas . Maher . . May 5, 2015 . December 12, 2020 . 7 May 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150507080854/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/242530/Postmortem_Moon_Studios_heartfelt_Ori_and_the_Blind_Forest.php . live .
  7. Web site: Celebrated Xbox One Game Ori and the Blind Forest Profitable in One Week . Eddie Makuch . gamespot.com . CBS Interactive . April 9, 2015 . April 9, 2015 . 11 April 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150411174955/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/celebrated-xbox-one-game-ori-and-the-blind-forest-/1100-6426518/ . live .
  8. News: Building Ori and the Will of the Wisps with 80 people working from home . Christopher . Dring . Gameindustry.biz . March 10, 2020 . 9 March 2022 . 14 March 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200314141253/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-03-10-building-ori-and-the-will-of-the-wisps-with-80-people-working-from-home . live .
  9. Web site: ORI AND THE WILL OF THE WISPS REVEALED . Joe . Skrebels . . 11 June 2017 . 9 March 2022 . 10 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210110211117/https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/06/11/ori-and-the-will-of-the-wisps-revealed . live .
  10. Web site: Ori and the Blind Forest devs are making an action RPG . Vikki . Blake . . December 22, 2019 . February 22, 2020 . 25 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191225120433/https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-12-22-ori-and-the-blind-forest-devs-are-making-an-action-rpg . live .
  11. Web site: 2024-02-09 . Take-Two has delayed the new action RPG from Ori developer Moon Studios . 2024-02-09 . VGC . en-GB.
  12. Web site: Οι δημιουργοί του "Ori" φαίνεται να εργάζονται υπό καταπιεστικές συνθήκες . 2022-03-28 . gr.ign.com.
  13. Web site: 2022-03-18 . Despite its beautiful Ori games, Moon Studios is called an ‘oppressive’ place to work . 2022-03-28 . VentureBeat . en-US.