Reigns studio Nerial ends development after 13 years and 11 games

Founders Tamara and François Alliot say Nerial is entering hibernation mode, a decision taken with owner Devolver. The team is looking for new work, and the founders plan to return to making games...

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Nerial, the British studio that made Reigns, Card Shark and The Crush House, is ending development. Founders Tamara and François Alliot announced it on 1 October in a statement posted to the studio's X account, and the word they chose for what happens next is hibernation.

“Nerial is entering hibernation mode,” they wrote. “After 13 years and 11 published games, we have decided together with our partners at Devolver to end development at the studio.”

What hibernation means

In the founders' words it means two things. The studio stops making games, and the people who worked there are leaving to find other jobs: “The fabulous Nerial team will now seek new opportunities and we wholeheartedly recommend each and every one to any potential studios that will be lucky enough to have them.”

The statement does not say how many people that is. It also does not say what happens to the games already on sale, whether they will keep getting updates, or who looks after the Reigns name from here. Nerial has been owned by Devolver Digital since 2021, PocketGamer.biz reports, and Devolver is the publisher named on the store pages. On 6 October both Reigns: The Witcher and The Crush House were still on sale on Steam.

No reason is given for the decision, only that it was taken together with Devolver.

Thirteen years, eleven games

The Alliots open by admitting what kind of post this is: “Oh no, another one of those studio announcements with text on a somber background color?” And then: “Unfortunately, yes, another one.”

They look back on the “utter puzzlement of releasing Reigns in 2016 to so many players”. The swipe left, swipe right card game went on to licensed versions for Game of Thrones, Animal Farm, Three Kingdoms and The Witcher. Reigns: The Witcher came out on Steam on 25 February this year and is the studio's most recent release.

They also mention “the fascinating and slightly disturbing Card Shark fan art players are still sending us”, and The Crush House, the 2024 reality TV game they call “our most ambitious project” and one “which we remain immensely proud of”.

The team had already been cut once

In April 2025 PocketGamer.biz reported that Devolver's financial report for 2024 disclosed a 40 percent reduction in headcount at Nerial. Devolver's investor presentation put it like this: “Nerial has undergone a team restructure to address issues around recent releases and to better shape the team for future releases.”

Neither that report nor this month's statement gives a number for how many people were at the studio at the end.

The founders plan to come back

The Alliots say they are not leaving games. “While this marks the end of Nerial as we know it, it’s not the end of game dev for us. We’re going back to our roots. François unrelenting drive to make games is as strong as ever, but first we need to take a break and reflect on everything that’s happened, before coming back with a new perspective.”

They name no date and no project. They thank the people they worked with “both inside the studio, at Devolver, and through ad hoc collaborations”, and say each of the studio's projects “was only possible through such impossible, fleeting conjunctions of talent and passion”.

For studios that are hiring, the practical part of the statement is the founders' recommendation of everyone who worked there. It is given without a single qualification.

Sources

Image: Nerial / Devolver Digital

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