Creators of the failed Mighty No. 9 announce studio closure

Creators of the Failed Mighty No. 9 Announce Studio Closure

Once again, we have news about the demise of another game studio. This time, the short straw was drawn by the Japanese collective Comcept, which gamers might remember for the failed "spiritual successor" to the Mega Man series, Mighty No. 9.

Studio Comcept was founded in 2010 by former Capcom artist and producer Keiji Inafune, and funds for the development of its debut game were raised via Kickstarter. Following the failed release of Mighty No. 9, the studio became part of Level-5 and changed its name to Level-5 Comcept. Inafune himself left the team in 2024.

Since then, the remaining Comcept employees managed to develop Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time — a fantasy JRPG with life simulation elements in the spirit of Animal Crossing. The game was met with rave reviews, and to date, it has a "Very Positive" rating (91%) on Steam based on nearly 13,000 reviews.

The closure of Comcept became known from a separate notice published in a recent issue of the Japanese newspaper Kanpo. This decision was made back on January 13 during a shareholders' meeting. The fate of the developers themselves is unknown. They have likely been transferred to other divisions of Level-5.