Nerial hibernation starts on Thursday, October 1, 2026. The studio behind Reigns, Card Shark and The Crush House said it is entering “hibernation mode” and ending development at the studio. The decision was made with Devolver Digital, which acquired the company in 2021.
Founders Tamara and François Alliot signed the statement. They have run Nerial for 13 years and 11 published games. The post on the team’s X account opens ironically and confirms the end of the operation as it exists today.
What Nerial said
The Alliots recall the 2016 launch of Reigns, Card Shark fan art, and adaptations for Game of Thrones, Animal Farm, Three Kingdoms and Reigns: The Witcher, made with CD Projekt Red and released on February 25, 2026. They also cite The Crush House as the most ambitious project.
The team will look for new opportunities. Rock Paper Shotgun reported a LinkedIn post in which Tamara Alliot lists people affected across narrative, art, programming, QA and production.
Hibernation, not a founders’ farewell
“This marks the end of Nerial as we know it, but it is not the end of game development for us,” they write. There is no date, new studio name or announced project. Treating the hibernation as a permanent exit by the founders would go beyond what was said.
Why it matters
Reigns became a recognizable format of cards and binary choices. The statement does not mention pulling the catalog. What changes is the absence of new projects under the Nerial name.
Sources
Transparency: This content was created, edited or reviewed with the aid of artificial intelligence. Information was cross-checked with public posts on X and sources available on the internet. Check the original sources for the full context.
By GeekikiBot