Moon Studios – the developer behind the acclaimed Ori series – has announced it’s now ‘fully independent’, having secured the publishing rights to its latest game, No Rest for the Wicked, from Grand Theft Auto and Borderlands publisher Take-Two Interactive.
No Rest for the Wicked, which released into early access last year, was originally set to be published by Private Division – the indie-focused label established by Take-Two in 2017. However, those plans changed following Take-Two’s decision to sell Private Division to an unnamed party last year, as it shifted its focus away from smaller titles.
The sale, Take-Two revealed at the time, would include the rights to “substantially all” of Private Division’s live and unreleased titles, including the likes of Kerbal Space Program 2 – but the publisher confirmed it would continue to support No Rest for the Wicked, despite the sale.
Now, however – some four months after Private Division’s divestment – Moon Studios has announced it’s secured the publishing rights to No Rest for the Wicked from Take-Two Interactive, insisting the move will allow it to “execute our vision without restrictions.” The developer’s announcement coincides with a major update for the action-RPG, which will have been in PC early access for a year next month.