Reigns series and Card Shark developer Nerial is shutting down after 13 years of operation, the studio announced, according to Gematsu (October 1, 2026). Devolver Digital acquired Nerial in 2021; the studio’s most recent release was Reigns: The Witcher with CD Projekt RED on February 25.
Founders Francois and Tamara Alliot’s statement says Nerial is “entering hibernation mode” after 11 published games, ending development together with partners at Devolver. They highlight Reigns’ 2016 breakout, Card Shark’s lasting fan art, licensed Reigns adaptations (Game of Thrones, Animal Farm, Three Kingdoms, The Witcher), and ambitious project The Crush House. The team is recommended to other studios; the founders say game development is not over for them personally, but they will take a break before returning with a new perspective.
For US indie watchers, this is another mid-2020s publisher-studio wind-down communicated as a joint decision rather than a mid-project cancel dump — and it does not, by itself, announce delists or Reigns IP retirement. Treat the statement as a studio closure, not a catalog purge, unless Devolver publishes storefront changes separately.
It lands in the same busy early-October industry window as expansion and calendar beats already on RCG such as Satisfactory Core Values Expansion Announced. Different beat type (studio farewell vs content drop); same news cycle for readers tracking who is shipping and who is winding down.
Nerial’s catalog — from the original Reigns through licensed adaptations and Card Shark — remains the public record of what the studio shipped; today’s note is about the company entity ending development, not about rewriting those games’ availability. Devolver’s role as acquirer since 2021 is acknowledged in the founders’ joint framing with their publisher partners.
What we are not saying: we are not inventing layoffs headcounts, claiming Reigns games are being delisted today, or dating a founders’ next studio. Report Nerial’s development end as announced October 1, 2026.
