VP Stefan Scandizzo confirmed to Next-Gen in an e-mail on Monday the "suspension/closure" of Castaway, adding that the studio has been closed since April 1 due to lack of funding.
"There have been many letters and posts supporting us and wishing us well; on behalf of the team here at Castaway, I’d like to thank them," Scandizzo wrote. "There have also been a number of companies and individuals that have since contacted us about assisting our studio but no decisions have been made at this time as to the company’s future."
Castaway, which was founded by former Blizzard North employees in 2003 created the advergame Yaris for the XBL and were in works on a Diablo-inspired title called Djinn, which at this point has had its operations suspended.
Scandizzo wasn’t afriad to admit that the studio needed funding, saying that "Castaway needs someone with money to swoop in and save the company through additional funding or an outright acquisition."
"The Djinn work was definitely my favorite," he said. "I’m getting a kick out of comments that it looks just like [Diablo] 2; though most publishers felt that it looked too ‘old school.’ Guess if it isn’t a shooter with the newest engine it’s not worth publishing."
Hopefully someone out there realized the potential that these developers have and help them out in their struggle. The game looked pretty good for what they had going for it at the time, don’t you think?