Crisol studio Vermila lays off entire team six months after launch, closure looming

Vermila Studios, the developer behind survival horror shooter Crisol: Theater of Idols, has laid off its entire staff just under six months after the game's release. CEO David Carrasco confirmed the cuts on July 22 but stopped short of calling it a full closure — for now.

Carrasco told Game Developer that financial pressure forced the studio's hand. "Unfortunately, due to financial reasons, we've had to dispense with the staff at Vermila Studios," he said. "We're going to try to pull through for the time being without shutting down, but the circumstances are quite difficult and it is a feasible possibility in the upcoming months." The news first surfaced on X when game designer Raúl Pernía Alejandro posted that the studio had closed entirely — a claim he later walked back, clarifying that while the full team had departed, the company itself technically remains active.

Crisol: Theater of Idols landed as a niche but reasonably well-received eurojank FPS — atmospheric and oddly compelling despite rough edges, underdeveloped ideas, and questionable voice acting. It never broke through to mainstream success, but it found an audience willing to see it through. The studio's situation is a grim reminder of a pattern that has become depressingly familiar in the games industry: a competent, even likeable debut title is no guarantee of financial survival, especially for a small independent studio without a safety net.

Multiple senior employees confirmed the layoffs independently on X and LinkedIn, lending weight to what Carrasco acknowledged. With the company still technically open but operating without staff, what comes next for Vermila — and whether Crisol ever sees further support or updates — remains an open question.