Two-man indie developer Vlambeer have announced that they’re shutting down after ten years of making games. The duo – Rami Ismail and Jan Willem Nijman – founded their game studio after dropping out of their game design course, and would go on to find great success with a string of popular indie hits, but on their 10th birthday, they’re calling it a day and going their separate ways.
Today marks Vlambeer’s 10th anniversary, which is way longer than we could've ever imagined. We had a beautiful run, made incredible games, and worked with amazing people, but it is time for new things. So we're announcing the end of Vlambeer. pic.twitter.com/jZ4dMGxNV2
— Vlambeer (@Vlambeer) September 1, 2020
Valmbeer state, “It’s not a sad day for us, but the happy conclusion to a whirlwind decade filled with screenshake. It feels like we’ve achieved what we set out to do – as a studio, as a voice, and as individuals, and we are extremely grateful for these past years.”
A whirlwind first few years saw plenty of praise for games like Super Crate Box, Ridiculous Fishing and Luftrausers, but since Nuclear Throne in 2015, the duo’s output has slowed to a crawl. In fact, I’ve seen a fair bit of criticism for not keeping the various versions and releases of their games up to date.
However, there’s still some unfinished business in the form of ULTRABUGS, which will be their final project as a development pair.
It's not a sad day for us, but the happy conclusion to a whirlwind decade filled with screenshake. It feels like we've achieved what we set out to do – as a studio, as a voice, and as individuals, and we are extremely grateful for these past years. pic.twitter.com/rd66tifQo8
— Vlambeer (@Vlambeer) September 1, 2020
Oh, and they’ve also kicked off a sale on Steam and released a prototype game called FFFLOOD, in which you rain down first form high orbit.
On top of that, we've decided to release our decade-long never-finished prototype, FFFLOOD: https://t.co/6zt7VBY1d9
It's a game about dropping 10-ton cannons from orbit all for terrible corporate glory.
— Vlambeer (@Vlambeer) September 1, 2020
What’s next for the two is likely a continuation of what they have been up to over the past five years. 2020’s shutdown of international travel aside, Rami Ismail is best known for his ever-presence at video game events around the world and advocating for small independent developers and helping minorities and those in developing nations enter the games industry. Jan Willem Nijman, meanwhile, has already been collaborating outside of Vlambeer, teaming up on the popular mini-adventure game Minit, and currently working on Disc Room.
Source: Vlambeer
