Blacklight: Retribution devs Zombie Studios to close after 21 years

Blacklight: Retribution and Spec Ops developers Zombie Studios will close, the company announced today. Founded in 1994, the Seattle-based studio made the announcement on the official Zombie Studios website, but it doesn't spell the end for free-to-play shooter Blacklight: Retribution. That will fall into the hands of newly formed studio Builder Box, which is helmed by the former Director of Production and Technical Director of Zombie Studios.

In a statement on the studio's Facebook page, Builder Box promised it would continue to grow the Blacklight universe. "While ownership of the game has changed, the people behind the scenes who have been constantly contributing to the Blacklight universe for the last four years remains intact. Builder Box will be working with Perfect World so that, as a fan, you can look forward to more updates and exciting changes in the coming year."

In addition to Blacklight, Spec Ops and Daylight, Zombie Studios also worked on a military simulator for the US Army.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.