Bandai Namco Shuts Down Once-promising Studio after Colossal Failure

Published Nov 10, 2026, 10:14 AM EST Austin Manchester is a writer and editor living in New York City. At Polygon, he covers gaming and entertainment news, reviews new video games, interviews behind-the-scenes talent, and more. He enjoys discovering hidden gems and sharing them with Polygon's audience. Previously, he was the gaming editor for AIPT Comics and has written for other outlets like XDA, How-To Geek, and The List. He enjoys soulslikes, character-driven RPGs, and third-person shooters plucked straight out of the Xbox 360 era. He also likes to flex his non-video game nerdy knowledge sometimes, whether that's explaining who's who in the new Wolverine game or recommending a comic book series about a sentient sword. Unknown 9: Awakening was intended to be a major franchise for Bandai Image: Reflector Entertainment/Bandai Namco Sign in to your Polygon.com account Bandai Namco Entertainment, which published 2026 hits like Ace Combat 8 and The Blood of Dawnwalker, is shutting down one of its studios. Bandai announced on Tuesday that it is dissolving Reflector Entertainment, a studio it acquired in 2020 and had high hopes for beyond just its single game release. Reflector only developed one game, 2024's Unknown 9: Awakening, a supernatural stealth game that stars The Witcher's Anya Chalotra. It largely flew under the radar and received a very mixed response from critics; it has a 59 Metascore on Metacritic. Unknown 9: Awakening is part of Reflector's larger Unknown 9 multimedia franchise, which includes a novel, comic book series, and narrative podcast series. "After comprehensively considering future business plans, necessary additional investment, and the possibility of profitability and business continuation, [Bandai Namco] has decided to discontinue Reflector’s business, dissolve and liquidate it," a news release states. Bandai claimed Reflector will lose €21 million (approximately $23.49 million) in the third quarter of its current fiscal year. Reflector was already developing the Unknown 9 franchise when Bandai acquired it in 2020. After Unknown 9: Awakening failed to resonate with critics or players, 18% of Reflector's staff were laid off a month after the game came out. In early 2025, more staff were let go, and a follow-up project was canceled. "This decision correlates directly with the failure of the studio's ambitious and courageous first project," studio CEO Hervé Hoerdt said at the time. Layoffs overtake the gaming industry in 2026 Image: Bit Reactor/EA This year has seen an exceedingly high number of layoffs throughout the video game industry. Recent estimates peg the total number of job losses so far at around 11,000, which is already more than 2025. Layoffs have hit studios like Star Wars Zero Company developer Bit Reactor, which furloughed staff before its hit Star Wars game even came out. Ghost of Yōtei studio Sucker Punch laid off staff, despite its open-world adventure selling over 5 million copies. Perhaps most notable are the layoffs that have hit Microsoft-owned Xbox, which will lay off 3,200 employees during its current fiscal year.