B?: Path Of The Teal Lotus Updates Could Be Affected By Humble Games Layoffs

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?B?: Path of the Teal Lotus
Image: Humble Games

The gorgeous B?: Path of the Teal Lotus launched barely two weeks ago, but the Metroidvania inspired by Japanese folklore could be facing issues in the future due to the layoffs at publisher Humble Games.

In a statement posted on Twitter, developer Squid Shock Studios has warned fans that it’s in a “difficult situation” regarding console ports. Humble Games was responsible for both Porting and QA support for the console versions, which of course includes the Switch port.

Squid Shock also admits that the effective “shut down” of publisher Humble Hames “took us completely by surprise”. While the team is working to find a solution, it has admitted that it “may take some time to put in place”.

Here’s the statement in full:

“We want to give you an update on Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus. We’re really proud of how the launch went and it has been great hearing all of your feedback on our game.

That being said, our launch hasn’t been without its challenges. Most of you will know that our publisher, Humble Games, has effectively shut down, laying off all 36 team members. This took us completely by surprise and, for a small development teams like us, it was a critical blow to our post-launch support.

We are now in a difficult situation when it comes to updating the console ports, as both Porting and QA Support was tied into our deal with Humble. We are actively pursuing all available avenues to allow us to roll out updates to console versions, but we regret to say this may take some time to put in place.

We just want to reassure players that we will get this resolved. We are working on updates for the PC version and we want to assure you that these updates and fixes will come to consoles in the future.

Thank you for your understanding and support.”

This is almost exactly the same scenario as Coral Island, the Stardew-like farming sim that’s also published by Humble Games on console. That game is out of PlayStation and Xbox consoles and is facing the same issues with post-launch updates on consoles, but the Switch port is also in limbo as a result of Humble Games’ closure.

The official Coral Island Twitter has replied to Squid Shock’s statement in solidarity and acknowledgement of the situation. Hopefully both Coral Island and B? can find the support and strike a new deal with a new publisher, and we have all of the staff affected by the layoffs in our thoughts.

Are you playing B?: Path of the Teal Lotus on Switch? Let us know in the comments.