EXOK Games Halts Development on Earthblade, Shifting Focus to New Ventures

A Tough Start to 2025

Hey everyone, I’ve got some bittersweet news to share as we kick off 2025. Late last month, Noel and I made the incredibly tough decision to cancel Earthblade. Yes, we’re starting the year with a heavy heart, but also a sense of relief that comes from finally facing a hard truth. In this post, I want to dive into what led us to this decision and what it means for the future of EXOK.

First off, I know this news is likely going to hit hard for fans who have been eagerly waiting for the game. We made this decision back in December but thought it best to hold off on the announcement until now. For those of us involved, we’ve had some time to process and grieve, though that journey hasn’t been a straight line. If you’re just hearing this and feel invested in the project, we genuinely apologize for any disappointment we’ve caused.

What Went Wrong?

Earlier this year, we started to see some cracks forming within our team. The tension primarily arose between Noel, myself, and Pedro—our founding member, trusted friend, and the art director for Earthblade. The conflict revolved around some serious disagreements regarding the IP rights of Celeste, and while we won’t get into the nitty-gritty details, it was a heart-wrenching experience. We did manage to reach a resolution, but ultimately, we all agreed it was best to part ways. Pedro is now diving into his own project, Neverway, which I highly recommend checking out; we’ve played it, and it’s looking promising!

Pedro’s departure wasn’t the sole reason for cancelling Earthblade, but it did force us to take a hard look at whether pushing through to finish the game was the right move. The project had a lot of potential, but frustratingly, it wasn’t as far along as one might expect after such a long development cycle. I truly believe that if we had decided to soldier on, Earthblade could have turned into something special. But at what cost?

Noel and I began reflecting on our day-to-day experience working on the game and realized it had become a struggle for quite some time. Sure, any long-term project can feel like a slog, but this felt deeper. The success of Celeste created a shadow of pressure over us, pushing us to deliver something even bigger and better with Earthblade. That pressure contributed to the exhaustion we were feeling. It’s important to note that Pedro isn’t to blame for this; in fact, our split has given us the clarity to see that we had lost our way and the opportunity to admit defeat. And honestly? I feel a mix of emotions about it, but relief is certainly one of them.

Taking Responsibility

I want to be crystal clear: the decision to cancel Earthblade rests solely with Noel and me. If you’re feeling upset about this news, please don’t direct any anger towards Pedro or the Neverway team. They’re not the enemy, and anyone who treats them as such isn’t welcome in the EXOK community.

Looking Ahead

As we’ve navigated this transition, other team members have also decided to move on. Noel and I are now eager to take all the lessons we’ve learned from Earthblade, wipe the slate clean, and refocus on smaller-scale projects. We’re back in the prototyping phase, exploring at our own pace, and trying to rediscover the joy of game development—much like how we approached the early days of Celeste and TowerFall.

We still hope to collaborate with our talented friends—Amora, Kyle, Chevy, Lena, and Power-Up Audio—in the future. Scaling up our core team post-Celeste didn’t pan out as we’d hoped, and that’s okay. We gave it our all, and now it’s time to return to our roots, reclaim some joy in our creative process, and see where this new path takes us. Here’s to new beginnings!