Fantastic Pixel Castle

Touche Ghostcrawler, Touche Last night I had a remarkable experience. I played Fantastic Pixel Castle’s Ghost. Not with my professional hat on. As a human being who loves games, enjoying a special title with friends. In an incredible way, many of my worlds collided. My party lead was Producer cat parry, someone I have known since her Lightforge days when she stepped up to help her colleagues there. She made a point of staying late so we could share the experience together. The community leader who set me up was Faye V., who could not have been more warm, welcoming, and organized. She went out of her way to make sure everything went smoothly. I also want to thank other team members like Matt D. who were there in the party. Ghost is a fabulous game and I had an absolute blast. I immediately got Guild Wars vibes, exploring a lived-in world where our party’s ship felt like it could take us anywhere. The missions were varied and engaging, some focused on exploration, others on combat, and all fresh and inventive. Classes were clearly defined. I played a mage-like character called a Tempest with a six-ability rotation where action combat and positioning really mattered. Encounters were not easy, especially on Hard, and they felt genuinely rewarding. There were so many creative touches. Group spell counters mapped to hotkeys. Zone-based pickups that worked like roguelike abilities. Character builds that mixed up familiar genre conventions. The art was breathtaking throughout, from beautifully painted loading screens to glowing neon fireflies, lush flora and fauna, and a wide variety of enemies. It delivered the satisfaction of dungeon runs but with enough to do in the world and back in town that it felt like Guild Wars, Warhammer Vermintide, a crafting sim, and a MOBA all at once. The bottom line is that it saddens me deeply that this studio is scheduled to shut down soon. It feels like one more gut punch in a series of them, emblematic of the loss and heartbreak so many have witnessed in recent years. The talent and the work done here in such a short time are extraordinary. To the team, thank you for welcoming me with open arms. I still hope that somewhere, somehow, someone sees what I saw and gives you another chance. In the meantime, as with all affected studios, our community will continue to do everything we can to support you. No matter what happens next, please know this. You made a great game. I loved playing it, and I especially loved playing it with you.

I wanted to share the news that Fantastic Pixel Castle’s time as a first party studio within NetEase Games is coming to an end. NetEase Games has been very gracious and supportive of looking for another publisher for our game. However, in the current market environment very few deals are getting made for any game, let alone something on the scale of an MMORPG. We’re doing everything we can to find a publisher or investor. At the same time, we’re encouraging our team members to explore future opportunities and supporting them through the uncertainty. If we're unable to find a publisher soon, the reality is that the studio would likely close, and the entire team, leadership included, would be affected. We want to thank the Ghost community, our playtesters, and the literally hundreds of people who have given us advice on how to find funding in this absurdly challenging time for our industry. I hope you all will have a chance to play Ghost. I also want to thank the FPC team who has made a game that we all should be proud of. I know it's cliche to say this, but demonstrably this is the best team I have ever worked with. We are rigorous in collecting data, and the data on our team morale and performance is higher than I have ever seen. Despite the challenges, the past two years have been the most satisfying of my career.