{"id":1199603,"date":"2026-02-18T21:34:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T21:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=598733"},"modified":"2026-02-18T21:34:52","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T21:34:52","slug":"no-ori-developer-moon-studios-wont-be-shutting-down-due-to-steam-reviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/no-ori-developer-moon-studios-wont-be-shutting-down-due-to-steam-reviews\/","title":{"rendered":"No, Ori developer Moon Studios won\u2019t be shutting down due to Steam reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Moon Studios CEO Thomas Mahler caused a bit of panic over the weekend as comments he left on Discord made the rounds, causing fans and media outlets to worry the Ori and the Blind Forest<\/a><\/em> developer was in danger of shutting down due to the reception to its latest release, No Rest for the Wicked<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s entirely possible that we won\u2019t be around in a couple of months to do anything anymore simply because we got review bombed which leads to people not buying the game,\u201d he wrote (via NeoGAF<\/a>). \u201cWhich means we\u2019re not making any money and will have to shut down.\u201d He also announced a call to arms, essentially, for No Rest for the Wicked<\/em> players to leave positive reviews of the game on Steam.<\/p>\n

Mahler quickly shifted gears, however, stating that Moon Studios was doing just fine. In a post on X<\/a>, Mahler backtracked and clarified his comments. \u201cI have no issue telling active players who love Wicked that they should go ahead and leave a positive review on Steam. After all, it\u2019s allowed on Steam to buy a game, leave a negative review that doesn\u2019t even talk about the game at all [\u2026] and then instantly refund it\u2026 and the negative review still counts. If that\u2019s allowed, then it should also be allowed for a developer to encourage their players to share their real experiences.\u201d He also complained about being branded a \u201cNazi\u201d and segued into a tangent about not commenting on the war in Ukraine. Read the whole tweet. It\u2019s\u2026 weird.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s not weird, though, is the reception to Moon Studios\u2019 No Rest for the Wicked<\/em>. It launched into early access on Steam in April 2024 and currently sits with a \u201cMostly Positive\u201d rating on Valve\u2019s platform, with over 8,000 recent and 35,000 lifetime reviews \u2014 not sure if I would call that being \u201creview bombed.\u201d No Rest for the Wicked<\/em> recently received a new major update titled \u201cThe Breach\u201d and with it came new quests, game modes, story scenes, performance improvements, and a whole lot more. You can read the official patch notes on the game\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Polygon has requested comment from Moon Studios regarding the effects of No Rest for the Wicked<\/em>\u2019s Steam reviews and will update this story accordingly.<\/p>\n

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