Journey developer went bankrupt to release it

The developer of hit social interaction indie title, Journey, thegamecompany, has been speaking about the development of the game, saying that a choice to hold off on release for a year ended up making the company go bankrupt – and many of the staff went without pay for a long time.

This insight was made at Dice 2013 (cheers NeoGaf), where co-founder Jenova Chen said that the reason for the delay was to fix the cooperative aspect of the game. Initially it was a four player experience, but ultimately it was decided that a two player experience would be better, since it encouraged players to work together more.

The idea of thegamecompany going bankrupt seems such a shame, since its previous titles Flower and flOw were so well received and certainly innovative in their own ways. Fortunately for them Journey did very well indeed and was critically acclaimed, receiving an average 92 rating on Metacritic.

It has also received a lot of praise from consumers, some considering it a very emotional journey:

Great email @thatgamecompany received about journey. How many games can do this? pic.twitter.com/T1UxZm0m

— brandon sheffield (@necrosofty) February 7, 2013

KitGuru Says: After reading that email I absolutely have to try this. Is it something I should play with strangers, or my oft-coop partner brother? Anyone recommend me one or the other?

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