Following Disney's decision to close FoxNext's Fogbank Entertainment game studio, acclaimed choose-your-own-adventure mobile game Storyscape has announced it will permanently shut down on February 3.
Earlier this week, Disney sold game studio FoxNext Games (Marvel Strike Force) to Scopely, the gaming company behind mobile titles like Star Trek: Fleet Command. Disney acquired FoxNext Games back in March 2019 as part of the Fox acquisition but is now selling the company to Scopely as part of a strategic move "to focus on licensing games to external game companies to make games based on Disney and Fox properties."
Though FoxNext Games owns FogBank Entertainment, Disney did not include the latter in the purchase. As a result, around 60 people have been laid off and FogBank's game, Storyscape, is set to permanently shut down.
Storyscape broke the heartbreaking news to its fans yesterday on Twitter and Facebook, officially announcing that the game would shut down permanently on February 3. In-app purchases have already ceased within the game.
Fans of the interactive fiction game are understandably devasted by this news. Many have lamented the loss of such an innovative game that celebrates and features prominent and positive LGBTQ+, racial and gender diversity representation. Additionally, the game has received much praise for its engaging writing, beautiful artwork, and creative gameplay. Though it received comparison to other interactive fiction apps like Episode and Choices, fans soon realized that Storyscape was something special.
A Change.org petition was launched almost immediately after Storyscape announced its closure. At the time of writing, the petition has already received over 2,000 signatures. Though it is unlikely that the petition will change Disney's decision, fans are still hoping to show support to the Storyscape creators.
Storyscape was launched in October 2019 for iOS and Android devices. The game received critical acclaim almost instantly. Similar to other interactive fiction mobile apps, the featured a number of stories and allowed players to dictate a unique path for their character. By the time the game shuts down, Storyscape will have come out with six stories.
At the time of writing, the game is no longer available for download on the App and Google Play Store.
Source: VentureBeat