The team behind “Stardew Valley meets Skyrim” viral hit Hawthorn are “developing this game from [their] personal pockets”.
Earlier this month we reported that several former developers from studios such as Bethesda, BioWare and Naughty Dog had banded together to develop the delightful-looking Hawthorn, which you can check out below:
Despite popping up on thousands of wishlists, however, Near Studios co-founder and CEO, Heather Cerlan, has revealed that despite the fervent interest its game has sparked, the dozen or so developers responsible for bringing Hawthorn to life are still not getting paid as the studio has no funding.
“The fact that we are developing this game from our personal pockets was completely lost,” Cerlan told to Bloomberg. “We have the ambitions and the visions; we don’t however have the funding yet.”
Near Studios was founded in 2022 but following a desperate family tragedy, Cerlan’s plans were derailed and the team lost two of its original co-founders – one “because of a disagreement in direction; the other because he couldn’t get out of a previous contract”. She then got in touch with former Bethesda coworker Jason Richardson, who “had been envisaging Hawthorn for many years”.
This delay, however, meant the team was looking for financial backing when independent games funding had all but dried up. But although Cerlan said she tried – and failed – to secure funding for the project throughout most of 2024, the team remains “pretty determined to get this to market one way or another”. If funding cannot be found, Cerlan said the studio is considering a KickStarter campaign.
“I had a general idea for a game, but it was never about the game,” Cerlan said. “It was about building a culture, building a team I was excited about essentially retiring at.
“Now we’re focusing on the game and the community. Our hope is everything else will come.”