Bandai Namco closes Reflector Entertainment, the studio behind Unknown 9: Awakening

Bandai Namco is closing Reflector Entertainment, the Canadian studio that developed Unknown 9: Awakening. In a notice to investors on 10 November, the Japanese group explained that its board decided to dissolve and liquidate the company "after comprehensively considering future business plans, necessary additional investment, and the possibility of profitability and business continuation".

The move will weigh on the accounts: Bandai Namco expects to book, starting from the consolidated results for the third quarter (nine months) of the fiscal year ending 31 March 2027, an extraordinary loss estimated at about 21 million euros, about 3.5 billion yen. The amount and timing are still being assessed.

Reflector, based in Montreal, was founded by Alexandre Amancio and Lune Rouge and was acquired by Bandai Namco in September 2020 for an undisclosed sum, together with its subsidiary Reflector Interactive Productions. Its only game, Unknown 9: Awakening, released on 18 October 2024, was the first piece of a transmedia project with podcasts, novels and comics. A month after launch the studio cut 18% of its staff; 2025 brought further layoffs, the abandonment of an unannounced project and the cancellation of the franchise due to weak sales. CEO Hervé Hoerdt had admitted the game fell short of expectations.

The context

According to an analysis by Sebastian Cardoso published in the Game Studio Unlocked newsletter and reported by PocketGamer.biz, of 283 developers acquired since 2000, 93 have closed; between 2023 and October 2026 there were 33 closures of acquired studios, against just one between 2019 and 2022.