No Rest for the Wicked: Moon Studios Goes Independent, Doubles Down on Content

Moon Studios, the developer behind the Ori games, has announced that they have bought back the publishing rights to No Rest for the Wicked from Private Division (a Take-Two Interactive subsidiary), making the studio fully independent. The announcement came during a developer update stream that also revealed "The Breach," the game's largest content update to date—one that doubles the size of the explorable world, introduces new weapon types, overhauls loot and progression systems, and adds a dynamic endgame mechanic called the Pestilence.

The Independence Pivot

The studio's path to this update was not straightforward. Private Division, Moon Studios' original publisher, was sold off by Take-Two Interactive, which caught the team off guard. Rather than seeking a new publisher, Moon Studios negotiated to buy back the publishing rights for No Rest for the Wicked, making the studio fully independent. This legal process forced the team to go silent for an extended period, but the result is that Moon Studios now has complete creative control over the game's direction. As the developers put it, they are "free to build No Rest for the Wicked exactly how we want, without needing to ever go silent again."

The Breach: Doubling the World