The board of directors of Fragbite Group has declared bankruptcy for its subsidiary Fall Damage Studio.
According to the company in a release, the bankruptcy became unavoidable after the Swedish development team was unable to pen an agreement with a publisher for its ALARA Prime PC game which led to an “unsustainable financial situation”.
As a result, the Fragbite board determined that Fall Damage Studio cannot pay its debts as they became due, promting their application for bankruptcy. However, parent company Fragbite Group and its other subsidiaries will continue to operate as usual.
With the bankruptcy application now submitted, Fall Damage’s book value will be down to zero on Fragbite’s balance sheet, which could negatively impact the company’s results by approximately SEK 39.0 million (about $4.68 million).
A commendable but unsuccessful attempt
Fall Damage has been in deep talks with a number of possible partners on publishing ALARA Prime since late 2023. And although the game’s potential didn’t go unnoticed, the subsidiary has not been able to finalize publishing agreements in the time required.
The game therefore represents a brave move to step away from mobile into other platforms but, with the failure of this single title to gain traction and interest prior to publication, the project and investment have been a failed experiment for Fragbite.
“Even though these dialogues are still ongoing and the development of the game is on schedule, the subsidiary will not be able to pay its debts as they become due and this inability is not temporary, which is why a decision to file for bankruptcy is necessary,” said the company.
While Fragbite has seen some success with its mobile subsidiary Playdigious, the company’s attempt to expand into PC gaming with Fall Damage’s ALARA Prime has seemingly failed despite holding talks with numerous publishers.
