Former Ubisoft Barcelona Developers Launch Dark Ritual Studios

A group of former Ubisoft Barcelona employees has founded Dark Ritual Studios, a new independent developer based in Barcelona, weeks after Ubisoft eliminated 51 positions at the studio behind June’s Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced.

The studio, led by Myles Kerwin, already has its first game on the market’s radar: Puzzle Mage, a dark-fantasy puzzle title the studio has listed on Steam with itself as both developer and publisher and a 2027 release window. Dark Ritual says it has secured funding to complete the game, and Kerwin told GamesIndustry.biz the title has passed 1,000 Steam wishlists, a “nice early milestone” that “suggests the concept is resonating with players.”

Kerwin frames the new studio as a deliberate rejection of the AAA production model its founders just left. Large productions, he said, involve “many layers of coordination, and that can slow creative decision-making.”

“At Dark Ritual Studios, we’re embracing the opposite approach – a small, experienced team with clear creative ownership, faster decision-making, and a focus on craftsmanship over scale,” he said.

The founding team brings franchise pedigrees well beyond its Barcelona tenure. On its own site, Dark Ritual says its founders have been friends for more than 25 years and have credits on Assassin’s Creed, Gotham Knights and Hogwarts Legacy, as well as the Hobbit film series. Though founded and based in Barcelona, the studio describes a team spread across three continents, with members in Buenos Aires, Montreal, Quebec City and the UK.

The layoffs that preceded Dark Ritual Studios

The launch lands against one of the more contested game-industry restructurings of the past two months. Ubisoft cut 51 roles at Ubisoft Barcelona in the weeks after Black Flag Resynced shipped, part of a broader cost-cutting programme the publisher says targets €200 million in savings. The cuts, which Ubisoft attributed to no longer needing the same headcount after narrowing the studio’s mandate, sent Barcelona staff on strike in a dispute organised by the Spanish union CGT.

The Barcelona operation is being narrowed to work exclusively on the Rainbow Six franchise, under the five-division Creative House structure Ubisoft introduced this year. The restructuring has already closed the publisher’s Winnipeg and Belgrade studios, part of a reset in which Ubisoft cancelled seven projects and delayed six others. Gaming.net has tracked the wider squeeze on Ubisoft’s portfolio, including its growing reliance on back-catalogue revenue, and the labour fallout is still spreading, most recently a union hardship fund for laid-off game workers.

Puzzle Mage points to a 2027 release

Dark Ritual’s debut is a top-down, point-and-click puzzle game. Per its Steam listing, players guide Lyra, a young apprentice mage, through the Rite of Ascension inside the Arcane Tower, combining four elemental gems, Earth, Fire, Wind and Water, into spells across more than 50 puzzle rooms. Kerwin said early playtest response has centred on the spell-casting system, “which players consistently mention as a highlight.”

The studio is not currently seeking additional investment, Kerwin said, and is “evaluating whether self-publishing or partnering with a publisher is the right long-term strategy.” Its stated approach is to keep the team lean and budgets controlled.

“Our strategy is to keep our team lean, our scope realistic, and our budgets under control,” he said. “That gives us more flexibility and reduces the pressure that comes with very large productions.”

Whether Dark Ritual self-publishes or signs a partner, its first concrete marker is Puzzle Mage’s 2027 PC release, with the Steam page already live and taking wishlists.