Crisol: Theater of Idols has lost its development studio. Vermila closed just five months after the Blumhouse-published horror game finally launched, following nearly a decade of development.
Madrid-based Vermila Studios reportedly finalized a mass layoff affecting its entire staff. Spanish outlet AnaitGames broke the story, citing posts from Vermila employees confirming the news themselves. 3D artist Helena Sánchez said her time at the studio ended “after almost nine years.” She called developing Crisol “an incredible experience” that cost her a lot of sleep.
Crisol: Theater of Idols Had a Rocky Road Already
Vermila’s history wasn’t a simple case of a first-time studio missing its shot. The studio launched in 2020, though prototyping on what became Crisol reportedly started back in 2017. That same year, Embracer Group’s Amplifier Game Invest arm acquired Vermila. Embracer spun the studio back out in 2023, during the sweeping restructuring that saw the conglomerate shut down studios and cut thousands of jobs across its portfolio.
Vermila re-emerged in June 2024 as part of Blumhouse Games’ launch lineup — the horror-focused publishing arm of the film studio behind Halloween and The Purge. That partnership gave Crisol real backing heading into launch, including a showcase at Summer Game Fest in 2024.
Pocos meses después del lanzamiento, Vermila Studios ha iniciado un ERE que finalmente ha supuesto el cierre del estudio y la salida de todo el equipo.
Es una noticia muy dura para quienes hemos dedicado tanto esfuerzo y cariño a este proyecto.
— R ☾˖°. (@Rauwuu_) July 23, 2026
How Crisol: Theater of Idols Actually Performed
Crisol: Theater of Idols launched February 10, 2026, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. It’s a first-person survival horror game set in an alternate, folklore-heavy Spain. Players fight statues of saints that have come to life, using their own blood as both a weapon and a health resource. Critics responded well, if not spectacularly: Metacritic scores landed at 74 on PC, 73 on PS5, and 79 on Xbox Series X|S. OpenCritic marked it 70% recommended. Reviewers frequently praised its its atmosphere and originality, while flagging rough edges typical of a smaller studio’s first big release.
That’s a genuinely solid outcome for an original IP from a studio this size, backed by a recognizable horror publisher. Which makes this shutdown jarring — this isn’t a studio limping away from disaster. It’s one that apparently ran out of runway months after a decent launch.
What Happens to Crisol: Theater of Idols Now
With Vermila’s staff reportedly gone, hopes for patches, post-launch content, or a sequel look doubtful. Blumhouse Games hasn’t commented publicly on Vermila’s status as of this writing. Whether another studio picks up the Crisol IP, or it just gets shelved, remains unclear.
This kind of outcome keeps repeating across the industry. Our coverage of Xbox’s own recent leadership churn shows a similar pattern — instability hitting studios and publishers of every size this year, from executive exits at platform holders to entire teams losing their jobs right after shipping their biggest project. For contrast, our piece on gamescom 2026 selling out its exhibition space entirely shows the show itself still growing, even as individual studios struggle to survive their own launches.
Vermila Studios spent nearly a decade building Crisol: Theater of Idols. It shipped to a genuinely solid critical reception, then reportedly shut down five months later. A decent launch clearly isn’t a guarantee of survival anymore — and it’s worth watching whether Blumhouse Games says anything about what comes next for the IP.