Vermila Studios, the Spanish developer behind Blumhouse-published Crisol: Theater of Idols, has laid off its entire staff of 19 and now faces possible closure just five months after the game's February 10 launch. CEO David Carrasco confirmed in a statement to Game Developer that financial pressures forced the cuts, adding that while they aim to continue without shutting down, "it is a feasible possibility in the upcoming months." Game designer Raúl Pernía Alejandro detailed on X that the studio initiated a Spanish ERE redundancy process shortly after release, which ended with the full team departing.
The Madrid-based outfit, founded in 2020, had been acquired by Embracer Group's Amplifier Game Invest for €0.9 million before splitting ways in 2023 amid the publisher's broader restructuring. Blumhouse Games signed on as publisher in 2024 after the studio struggled to secure funding without diluting its artistic vision for the survival horror title set in a nightmarish reimagining of Spain. Reports from VGC and other outlets note that staff posts describe the game reaching players and building a community, yet the studio couldn't sustain operations for follow-up work.
Steam data shows Crisol: Theater of Idols maintaining a low but steady player count with an all-time peak of around 1,700 concurrent users and estimates of over 60,000 units sold alongside positive review scores. This marks another entry in the wave of 2026 studio closures, underscoring how even well-received indies with major publisher backing can falter when revenue fails to cover ongoing costs. The timing hits hard for a team that poured years into a project they described as a proud first chapter.
