We’re reporting a troubling development in the indie horror scene: Vermila Studios, the developer behind Crisol: Theater of Idols, has allegedly closed its doors with the entire team departing. Take this with a pinch of salt, but the details are serious and, if true, paint a bleak picture for the studio and the game’s future.
What Was Reported
According to Insider Gaming, one of the game’s designers, identified as Alejandro, took to X to describe what happened at Vermila Studios. Alejandro wrote that “a few months after the launch, Vermila Studios has initiated a redundancy procedure that has ultimately led to the studio’s closure and the departure of the entire team.” He added that while the project “has reached the players,” the studio “has not been able to move forward.”
Crisol: Theater of Idols was published by Blumhouse Games and released on PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S, per the same report. Some third-party sales and engagement numbers were also cited: third-party Steam estimates from Sensor Tower put sales at approximately 106,000 copies, equaling around $1.2-1.3 million at the game’s $17.99 price point. The title reportedly hit an all-time peak of 1,722 concurrent players on Steam, while console data “has not been released to the public.”
The game’s critical reception was presented as generally positive, with an average Metacritic score of 76/100 across platforms, yet that appears to have not been enough to keep the studio afloat.
The Source & Credibility
We’re basing this on reporting by Insider Gaming, which relayed direct quotes from a designer named Alejandro on X. The developer’s own words — describing a redundancy procedure and the subsequent departure of the entire team — are the linchpin of the story. That direct attribution strengthens the claim, but it’s worth stressing that this is a single primary on-record account published by Insider Gaming.
Additional numerical context comes from third-party estimates: Sensor Tower’s Steam sales numbers and concurrent players figure are cited by Insider Gaming. These estimates are presented as third-party Steam numbers, and the report explicitly states that console figures have not been made public. In short: some hard-seeming metrics are included, but parts of the picture remain incomplete.
Why We’re Cautious
- We have direct quotes attributed to a studio designer, but no apparent official statement from Vermila Studios itself in the public record cited.
- Sales and revenue figures are listed as third-party estimates, not publisher- or developer-released numbers.
- Console performance numbers are explicitly unavailable in the cited coverage.
What It Could Mean
If the claims are accurate, the immediate consequence is that the team behind Crisol: Theater of Idols is no longer operating under the Vermila Studios banner and its staff have departed. That raises obvious questions about support, updates, and any live-service ambitions tied to the game — points that the available reporting does not answer.
The numbers supplied in the report — roughly 106,000 copies and about $1.2-1.3 million at a $17.99 price — offer one lens on commercial performance. Whether those figures would typically sustain a studio depends on many factors not disclosed in the coverage we’re citing: development costs, ongoing support plans, publisher arrangements with Blumhouse Games, and other financial realities. Take this with a pinch of salt: the reported sales may look respectable at a glance, but the report itself cautions that the studio “has not been able to move forward.”
For players, that could mean limited future updates unless another studio or publisher steps in, and for the devs it likely means new job searches. Again, that’s conditional — based solely on what Insider Gaming relayed from Alejandro.
Why This Matters
This is a story about more than one studio closing: it’s about how even games that receive decent critical scores — 76/100 on Metacritic, per the cited report — and measurable sales can still face existential challenges. If true, Vermila Studios’s closure is another reminder that the path from release to stability is not guaranteed, even with a publisher like Blumhouse Games attached.
We’ll keep digging and will update readers if we find further confirmations, official statements, or follow-up from anyone at Vermila Studios, Blumhouse Games, or other involved parties. For now, consider the core claims — the redundancy procedure, the studio closure, the departure of the entire team, and the sales/engagement figures — as reported by Insider Gaming and attributed to Alejandro on X. Take it with a pinch of salt, but it’s a development worth watching.
