Gylt and The Sexy Brutale developer Tequila Works has filed for insolvency, with newly-appointed general manager Térence Mosca citing "prolonged market conditions" as the reason for the studio's predicament.
According to a GamesIndustry.biz report, Mosca says he's proud of what his team "has accomplished together", but that the aforementioned market conditions gave his studio no choice other than filing for insolvency.
As a reminder, Tequila Works canceled an unannounced project and laid off an unspecified number of staff back in October, calling the current moment in the gaming industry an "incredibly difficult time". Evidently, those layoffs and that cancellation weren't enough to save the studio.
It's worth noting that insolvency isn't necessarily the same thing as a studio shutdown; essentially, insolvency means an entity isn't able to pay the debts it's incurred, which means Tequila is functionally out of money but not necessarily defunct yet.
As such, the studio could undergo a reorganization under Mosca, although it looks like it might take a pretty mighty reorganization effort in order to save a studio that seems to have been struggling for quite some time.
In the statement provided by GI.biz, Mosca says that the studio is doing everything it can to "provide support and guidance to our teams", an assurance that was also made when the studio laid off staff and canceled its project last month.
The statement notably doesn't say that Tequila has canceled its remaining project or laid off the remainder of its staff, so it's possible we may see Tequila rising from the ashes at some point in the future.
Tequila Works was founded in 2009 and released its first game, cinematic zombie platformer Deadlight, in 2012. That game was followed by titles like The Sexy Brutale, Rime, and Gylt, as well as last year's League of Legends spinoff Song of Nunu.
It remains to be seen what lies in Tequila Works' future, but don't be surprised if we don't hear from the studio for some time. Stay tuned for more.
